this is basically a stupid process. i have a black book. for the past thirty years when someone has betrayed me. through. the beginning of the this is the european. significant breakthrough in the case of missing intern. a close associate of wiki leaks. police have announced that the man's belongings have been found in the sea off the norwegian coast. the police nordland was notified by

a local recreational fisher that he had found some belongings floating in the sea near the shoreline the belongings are confirmed by the police to belong to the missing person are you compass so the location of these items appears to be fairly close to the town where i encountered first was staying and where he was last seen on the twentieth of august when he checked out of the hotel there in the town of bodo he was a dutch citizen and he was in norway on holiday as i said and he was meant to leave the hotel and take a train to another town ten hours south of the town where he was staying in order to get a flight from there but he never got on that flight and that's when friends and family started getting worried and started expressing their concerns about his whereabouts there are now dutch investigators in norway helping with the investigation and i think his disappearance is getting more media attention because

of his close association to julian songe campus worked closely with wiki leaks in the past his online accounts said he was a free software advocate he was an i.t. security advisor and he'd also written a book about investigative journalism as well he did media appearances as an i.t. expert i think you'd see pictures of him talking to r.t. on your screens as well but still a total mystery really what happened to him police say they're still trying to work out if there was an element of criminality involved they're not sure about that yet but of course the internet being the internet there's already wild speculation especially from the wiki leaks supporters about what may have happened to some at the moment pretty baseless and wild theories that perhaps that he knew too much that he may have been taken out by some secret service for his links to julian

assange anja. this say maybe this is all a warning to julian assange some speculation that maybe all this is just a deep cover assignment for weeks from now though police are still combing that area of sea off the coast of norway trying to establish what happened to him. live from moscow this is our to international i'll be right here in thirty with today's top news stories and updates before that though more crates are comparable . hello and welcome to cross talk where all things are considered i'm peter lavelle peering into the abyss the syrian arab army is determined to liberate good lives

and to eliminate the terrorists they are essentially ending this international proxy war the u.s. and its regional allies are dead set against this why it's the trumpet ministration siding with terrorists. across talking syria i'm joined by my guest adel darwish in london he's a political commentator and author of the book the edge of war in leeds we have seen shah he is the senior lecturer in middle east politics at the university of bradford and in beirut we have niamh solemn he is a professor of international affairs at notre dame university all right gentlemen cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate let me go to the best dressed man on television adel darwish in london i love your bow ties. i don't explain something to be allowed in july of last year we had the american delegated to oversee dealing with the situation in syria direct

and boy said the greatest concentration of terrorists in the world isn't it good and he again if i had them is al qaeda and associated groups now we have remarkable turn around in the last days and weeks is that no that the syrian government is warned not to liberate its own territory and not to apparently seemingly not to lay a finger on any wanted list how do you account for this major reversal i think it's a four letter word and it's called iran but go ahead. well of course iran is a measure player and factor here. are you never really a subscriber to conspiracy theories but actually it looks to me like. become like a fix become like america and probably we in britain dragged. things stand behind the america is actually managing the problem giving the problem

and managing it like you have something you cannot eat consume we don't want to throw away so you freeze it. every area liberated by the city and out of our army we have seen insistence from america that the terrorists groups like about the most like. and others leave. and go to a concert they have now where will this terrorist go. if you're a rush i don't want them because most of them were actually were from other places nobody else wanted them and turkey of course doesn't want them although that in the beginning facilitated the supply of arms these famous stay with us for them and so on so keep them there until the problem is solved because if. liberated a there would be a lot bloodshed be that nobody wants them then as i said comes iran iran with hezbollah as well and so yeah ok i get the point that but then why were these

terrorist coddled funded salaried given arms i mean eccentric century now nobody wants them i mean i read this piece of fiction by erda one in the wall street journal you gotta read this the world must stop assad i mean i've never seen such political friction written by a leader i mean he doesn't deal with everyone doesn't deal with how he's been part of this problem and directly to book a go ahead in leeds yaar. absolutely brian said to me over the last two or three years any time that this syrian army and its allies managed to take all the regions there was no kind of an agreement for rebels and their families to move to a different region then i said to me over the last couple of years and live it has

been kind of a very attractive distant nations for a number of groups in particular. which is primarily made all the format kind of finances but what makes set at least important and is sufficiently sensitive for serious players in the civil war is not necessarily the concentration of the concentration or fifty's of rebels or fred terrors what. it's talk of free as you know it has a front with turkey and despite the hype that he has been a bit even an important player in the civil war over the last seven years these specific area these only region. to the tent clean is khan of control so this is the only one giving chip. it has it is

a con of controlling decision and specifically for decision it has been able to be part and parcel. of the picture a very important power broker and we know that if basically if he set of getting to get all the by deceiving and military and allies it can have serious consequences not only so you can do so it's a kind of a strategic vision but at the same time it can pave the way to another a refugee crisis that has already said he's not a puppet i let me get in my make me go to. root here i mean i'm kind of a variation of the same question that i just asked to mean did anybody think about these things the law of unintended consequences i mean where these peaceful people are supposed to go i mean number one i think every country in the world every government the world should say that they want to wash their hands and have nothing to do with these terrorists. might be a way to start negotiating ok but also saying with beirut i mean you know it seems

to me that turkey is is really dirtying the waters here because it you know the everyone was just with rouhani in tootin and now he comes out with this op ed in the in the wall street journal and it's very unclear what he wants to do and i'd like to correct i mean they're not controlling northern syria they're occupying and it is an illegal occupation no one in northern syria that i am aware of asked them to come in ok so how is the the turkey card playing in all this name in beirut where that. has been responsible for molestation as a seven year war seventy percent of the war on syria and the destruction of syria so. now it has opened its border with syria eight hundred sixty kilometers border with syria to terrorist groups from all kinds of countries perhaps more than

eighty. company is there a risk. and to us not a problem of syria so mr. primarily responsible for what is going on in syria as far as the violence that has to spread all over the company and there was also that that the group which they collected from the muslim world and man made them order from europe as well and shipped them to syria now they are scratching their head and they don't know exactly what the heck they. we would like to do exactly know that they would be feel good yeah exactly they know they would be pretty good. ok. we're out we're getting close to the breaking let me go to adele here i dealt i mean i think your point your first point is really is perfect is spot on is that the u.s. and its regional allies including syria they want to freeze the status quo when it comes to in the meantime i would point out the u.s.

is attempting to establish some kind of semi-autonomous semi independent state in south in the north east which is really quite interesting here is and in the tone and tenor is that now it's all about iran it's not about it will be more and they don't want and they don't want any kind of a victory for assad because that would be a victory for russia go ahead and london. yes i mean it's a cold war. or a mini cold war be afghanistan he played all over again and the lesson of. which you yourself. stepped into would say. the think of the unintended consequences and three most important when russia intervened so years ago it had a strategy and the plan there was talk about actually dividing syria and to

different tones bought the strategy of russia to keep their geographical in dignity of syria not pro-us they don't care about that that's not going to be replaced the people of syria come bring another regime but it's actually keep your graphic and figure if you have to if that's actually happened. america if you did not have a strategy would see that as a victory for russia if assad to remain it's also a victory for the iran because he. and as well as for them as well and so on so establishing this sort of foothold medical a. and prisons maybe some kurds will be exactly and so on and that goes for that and then that's what turkey doesn't like the kurds but at the same time it's another book out author school water wars which actually was covered actually on russia with a few years ago there's a conflict of actually water between syria iraq and turkey and that was actually the long term animosity between the musk us and then there is also

there's also natural gas and oil ok what we have one minute left i want to go back to of sheen here i mean does the u.s. have a long term strategy other than we're not going to leave that to what it seems to me. the problem with the said ministration is thirteen or there are a lot of mixed messages coming from washington about the grand con of foreign policy which is you know what it is it was only about five months or if you remember president trump said that once we have defeated there are leaks take going to was a little from syria but only a short while ago some high ranking american military officials there stated that actually. now has changed and he's no longer about getting the nation or crisis we go into a state in syria could this as long as the base he had iranian

and hezbollah forces are still active in c. if we're going to remain on a military presence and more importantly they have a stated that as long as there is no friendly regime which is acceptable to the syrian people and it's a little international community then east chase and justification what american military that's over here are going to go to our we're going to go to a break here but ok all those things goals and demands we'll be waiting until hell freezes over for that to happen we're going to go to war breaking out about your break we'll continue our discussion on syria stay with aren't. going and. curse.

what politicians do. put themselves on the line. they get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president. some want. to go right to due process this is what before. you get. interested in the. welcome back to cross talk we're all things we considered peter lavelle to remind you we're discussing the situation in syria.

let me go back to our guest in beirut ok we heard about the demands that the u.s. is putting forward for syria after donald trump if you look through the history of his tweeds the syrian war was a big mistake until i became president and we had to leave illegal airstrikes against syria because of alleged chemical weapons we're going probably waiting for another one of those but what about what syria wants syria has it has russia and it has in iran and the longer or the more elaborate the u.s. administration strategy becomes the more and more it seems to me that the u.s. wants to stay in syria to determine any kind of peace settlement i don't see how it could happen if the u.s. remains there and you know u.s. policy viz of the iran and i think it's pretty universally recognized that everyone isn't in in ministration is a hawk when it comes to iran go ahead in beirut. who are left i believe that the

united states foreign policy is very much directed by what what is called is established as a united states as much as or even more than the president as such whoever the president is for instance the said about obama when he came president he came to cairo early on in his presidency and he made it sound in his speech talking about cooperation with the arab and muslim world and democracy et cetera et cetera and primarily emphasizing peaceful cooperation but what did the administration of mr obama bring about it the bronx brought about the so-called arab spring or actually for that are not a bomb threat and then muslim country it was succeeded i think bomb seven muslim countries keep going. this was succeeded by mr trump mr trump in the year before he became president he was talking about he wants to stroll that troops from syria and from iraq cetera but once he became president

histone change it what what does this tell us is that that establishment the deep establishment in the united states has very much a strong. decision making. control over the policy of the united states so for the past yet and they have mr trump instead of. diminishing u.s. troops and was growing u.s. troops from both syria and iraq he has been increasing the numbers particularly in syria the number of u.s. troops now in syria are about three thousand troops and that is better yet except by the trump administration mr bolton and other than mr bolton that they want but that syria based on the claim is that the whole new claim is of chemical weapon this is a farce. and mr trump clearly is into it so despite

all the things he said that he doesn't want war it seems that the recent the policy of the united states is coming again to emphasize that the u.s. will stay in northern syria and this was said yesterday by the plant administration that they were they are not going to withdraw from northern syria in fact the u.s. troops. which are located in about certain military camps and bases in northeastern syria east of the euphrates the area where is of the euphrates in syria is approximately. thirty to forty thousand square kilometer the end is smarter than three times bigger than my country levanon so and more than that this area is of those factors. to produce about three some of them three hundred thousand barrels of oil every day. it's an asset grab and

well here i mean i mean what they let me come on oh i'm growing they want to be a spoiler they go on to syria to have the resources to rebuild that's how i see it once this conflict comes in exactly adel. i guess people don't remember the cold war very well you know i keep hearing that newsrooms all over the world in the western world are run by twenty somethings you know and they like to play with social media all day long i remember the cold war pretty well all right and it was something we all worried about now you know seeing the u.s. in a very cavalier way saying not only are we going to i can't use that kind of a simple language of donald trump you know we're going to we're we're going to make it hurt you're going to syria hurt and everyone else on the russians only in the iranians as well or anyone else here that helps them ok very cavalier language he didn't use that during the cold war you know why and i almost never i almost never like to quote barack obama but you know elections have results in this is what's happening ok we have results here the american people voted against these foreign

wars and now this is a promise broken go ahead. while the midterm election. for the congress is going ahead we have seen out of the competition between the two but if you if we have because it was a reporter. during the cold war sixty's seventy's eighty's. in the cold war. the moscow. london and washington. and. those. that were talking to each other. now what i'm one of them the absence of the that's number one then we have a member of nato which is supporting one saw it which is the terrorists and and led. most sort of

a sponsible way is actually the use of the military threat we have seen both on talking in that far off about something to us that we buy. by a president from now if they actually find then execute like when you have a corrupt a police man putting some drugs into someone how is he doesn't live who on the rest him. some stage. and actually use the military action against syrian military assets then it would be that proves my theory that the actually do do not want. to actually be got rid of these terrorist groups yeah but you know which end of the cold war yeah i mean i've seen but you know i mean i guess that you know for a lot of people in the us watching this program what is the geopolitical.

importance of it to the united states i mean it's never explained congress has never consulted you know and then you have this ongoing support of all on all different level support of terrorist groups like al qaeda in yemen and in syria here so i mean is it what is the geo political importance of it is it just to be a spoiler because that's what it looks like to me go ahead. now let me go to your leave here let me get a little let me go to leeds go ahead of shape i don't think get your polluting the united states. in. but if you're talking about the north east region which is currently controlled by syrian democratic sources. then we can see the united states has some city interests i personally don't like to use commas. recall turns because i believe that history never repeats itself but

if you read it in c.s. using terms like the cold war perhaps we can assume that what you are beginning to see induce phase of disunity in all what we see is kind of general many ficci shown to consume what i mean by germanic occasion if you do remember that just because of the second will all the country effectively was divided between two different spheres or influence i think. in one leader or another will go ahead what i do. it challenges the issues of the north east is not going to get their way it's not going to go away any time soon because the united states through the kurdish proxies is a very much interest to maintain a military prison comms older. indonesian and at the same time on the important

players like russia and iran have already asserted that they are there. to work to a sphere and effectively this is going to pave the way to what i would just sit on of the german occasion of syria and these tensions are potentially can go on for many years decades. ok so that that that i got your partners go back to beirut so i mean i remember this we were talking about this actually a couple years ago i was almost the end in cement there's going to be a partition the brookings institution now this big plan and all that and of course that works for israel's interests but at that but this is not what the syrian people want i mean i think there's always a something that they have no they have no autonomy or agency here i mean it seems to me if we look at what happened with aleppo remember it's going to be a humanitarian crisis catastrophe went on for months and months and months it was liberated and people came back to the city. as a matter of fact the easter after the liberation christian celebrated easter unlike

you for so many years ok so i look at this hype in the media because that's all it is here and i agree with sheen their goal of this operation is going to go forward to liberate go ahead in beirut. where clearly is american strategy. seeks to keep the conflict and the violence in syria festering first studying as long as possible. every area in syria that had terrorist groups the united states the western country britain and france they did all they could they could in order to get on gape the presence of those two groups in those areas or was that in a little short of. a lot to be ourselves out of syria etc so the biggest concentration of terrorists now in syria is in ed live there was there

were more than forty thousand. and ship it to from other parts of syria and took a look and there were about sort of sort of the five thousand terrorists stationed in the first place in it so now that is a big concentration of this terrorist and the united states would like and prefer that they be kept somehow in syria to cause the problem to the regime in syria and that's what turkey also wants and therefore it is a big hope plan now is to threaten certain the syrian government not to attack. and not to let it through but the way i see it the clearly struggling government there were. just to her mind said ok we're. ending the terrorist rebel rule there i agree history doesn't repeat itself but the. the strong echo when you deal with these types of terrorist groups that's all the time

we have many thanks to my guess in london leeds and in beirut and thanks to our viewers for watching us here see you next time and remember. in twenty four to you know bloody revolution to the demonstrations going from being relatively peaceful political protests to be creasing the violent revolution is always spontaneous or is it still loyal. to the former ukrainian president recalls the events of twenty four. those who took part in this to do over five billion dollars to assist ukraine in these and other goals that will ensure a secure and prosperous and democratic. executive

order allowing the u.s. to impose sanctions on any individual or government that meddles in its elections also covers anyone spreading what washington deems to be dissent from a shit. hole to coming up on a lot of reports and reveals that russia has identified the suspects that britain say these. things. there's nothing special or criminal. are these civilians yes they are definitely civilians. the russian defense ministry claims terrorists in syria is. filming the staged chemical at times.