welcome back across the god peter lavelle to remind you we're discussing the relative value of ga. and. ok jeff in toronto we forward to the break you said you want to jump in so just go right ahead. right well let's not also forget what has driven our involvement in the region and that is that when you produce thirty percent of world oil supply you tend to catch a lot of attention from the largest world oil consumers and i think some of the skepticism around what's happening in libya is why are we intervening in libya a country that produces one point six million barrels a day and not intervening in other places like yemen and bahrain that doesn't have that kind of oil supply and i guess you know one thing we've got to remember is where we have intervened in the middle east and i say the west stance ability to increase energy supply typically what's happening is that we've ended up getting less energy supply and any time there's been regime change and it doesn't really matter what the ology of the regime change is whether it's the replacement by the shah by the iranian revolution

follow and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle cox before more talks u.s. president barack obama's most recent attempt to broker a peace settlement between israel and the palestinians halted only hours after it was announced israel and its allies in the u.s. made it clear that they will have a say when it comes to the terms and conditions of any negotiations is obama's peace ideas already dead on arrival. can. you cross talk the peace process i'm joined by my guest in washington daniel pollack he is co-director of government relations for the zionist organization of america we also have hussein he is the author of the english blog calm and calm this for now lebannon and paul sam he's an adjunct scholar at the middle east institute and a professor of israel studies at the university of maryland ok gentlemen crossed this is cross talk and that means you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it but first let's have a look at the chessboard and some of its pieces. u.s. president barack obama is space with a daunting task help broker a peace set

following the welcome to crossfire gang peter lavelle as the arab spring continues to sweep the arab middle east where does this leave here around with a new and democratic regimes in the region distance themselves from washington and how is the arab spring changing the islamic republic. ok. to cross the fate of iran in the storm of the arab revolutions i'm joined by mohammad marandi in toronto is a professor at the university of toronto in london we go to jonathan paris he's a security specialist in senior fellow with the atlantic council and author of the recent report prospects for iran and in irvine we crossed the serai so poor ehrlich she's an independent research writer and political commentator all right crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want but first let's look at iran and its neighborhood. though face to its toughest sanctions this year iran appears no less than bold and in the face of the west as the service is trying to adjust to the ongoing democratic tsunami there in the savor and washington's diplomatic predicament the revelers and things

follow in the welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle as the leaders of the group of eight meet in france more and more question the usefulness of this elite club of countries is it just a talking shop can it really influence the global agenda like it once did and should the g eight be abandoned in favor of the g twenty. can. do cross talk to a group of eight i'm joined by andrew hilton in london he is director and joint founder of the center for the study of financial innovation in istanbul we crossed to paul heinbecker he's a former advisor to canadian prime ministers on foreign policy and now a distinguished fellow at the center for international governance innovation and in toronto we have jeff rubin he's a former chief economist for a north american investment bank journalist and author all right folks gentlemen this is cross talk and you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it and i do it and you first in london this looking at some of the other pictures that are coming out of the g eight. festival as i think you could call it in france it looks very very impressiv

welcome back to cross talk i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're discussing what the word west. can. do if i go to you and you thought maybe we should just jettison the word the concept west as it's kind of thrown around in and out in media of certainly and maybe even academia why don't we just focus our attention on modernization because i think that's really what everyone's talking about because you can modernize without westernizing with all the baggage that is associated with it and the coercion that we have talked about this socially it was because in living it i live in russia and people don't consider this a western country but it's a modernizing country and there is a great deal been given still what is called the west. it has been ever since peter the great. well i think that modernization is certainly attempting and i think it is more appropriate in many cases and westernization of course modernization has its own ambiguity as in difficulties in baggage so it should that's quite the solution either i mean it might be that you talk about people wanting to mark or see we

follow in welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle what do we mean when we use the word west is it a place a state of mind or even a specific time in history also what is meant by the decline of the west particularly when so many ideas associated with it are now global. you can. see. to cross out the meaning of the word west i'm joined by only bob he's in cambridge he's the director of the humanity center at harvard university in chicago we go to richard lee he's a professor at the department of philosophy at a pall university and in washington we cross to william burns he's a professor at george washington university hard gentlemen cross-talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want there are difference of opinion here and i'd like my viewers to see it if i got a homie bobby in cambridge first when the word west is used first of all do you like its usage its application and what does it mean to you. well i don't like the word west when it's used in a kind of simple polarity with something that is not the west because i think these geographical issues have really changed

follow and welcome to crossfire i'm peter lavelle the story of many middle classes in the developed world the middle class has seen its condition and fortunes under stress for decades and the outlook is not encouraging that cannot be said of rising classes in the developing world are we witnessing an historic exchanging of places . keep. still. rising and falling classes i'm joined by geoffrey my run in boston he's a senior fellow at the cattle institute in washington we have samuel sheridan he's a policy analyst at the economic growth program at the new america foundation and in new york we cross to richard esko he is a blogger writer and a former wall street executive all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want but first let's look at the tale of a middle class. has long been the pride and joy of rich western countries but today this is rapidly changing the middle class is in danger under pressure for decades and assaulted during the great recession the middle class is shrinking and there is little evidence this will be reversed and you time

but up next our debate show cross talk and in this edition host peter lavelle and his guests discuss whether the revolutionary hybrid the arab world is losing heart that's up next an artsy. can. follow and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle the arab awakening is often referred to as revolutions in the arab middle east there can be no doubt something important is occurring in this region but should we be using the word revolution dictatorial regimes remain intact and foreign influences continue to prevail. and you can. see. crosstalk what is happening in the arab middle east today i'm joined by michael monger in durham he is a professor at duke university in new york we have a loan ben my ear he is a professor at new york university and in boston across the daniel pipes he's an author and director of the middle east forum all right gentlemen this is cross talk and there's only one rule you can jump in anytime you want i to go to michael in durham first do you feel comfortable with this term revolutions occurring in the arab world because there are so many different examples where

flow we welcome the cross talk i'm peter lavelle is he for real he's got a t.v. show claims to be rich and has a signature hairstyle of course it is the donald donald trump he says he may or may not run for the u.s. presidency irrespective of the final answer what does all this trump mania say about america and its politics. and. trump as a presidential candidate i'm joined by cliff schecter in columbus he's an author pundit and president of labor costs in boston we have alan schroeder he's an associate professor in the school of journalism at northeastern university and in washington we cross to alex vogel is a partner at mehlman vogel castagnetti all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want but first let's look at the man who wants to say you're fired to president obama. as the next year's presidential election approaches the two main courses thinking ahead with no obvious frontrunner among republicans there is clearly an opening that is all the more time to think it's about mcgrath also the sluggish economy this is

welcome back to cross talk time peter lavelle remind you we're talking about the i.m.f. and emerging. entries. to to. steve's. probably which is a break geoffrey made an interesting comment is that we have seen one president i know out of an amount of economic growth over the last six years and i guess we all agree my just a great recession but daniels i can go back to you again what a great examples are out there with the i.m.f. help countries become rich. well i don't agree with the premise of the question and i don't really think it's that the math of this got just become rich i think it's misleading to look at the past sixty years as a whole i think if you look at the world economy since the early one nine hundred seventy s. particularly west you can see that economic growth rates have tended to slow down and also when they have grown they've grown quite often because of extending a huge amount of credit rather than trying to work out how to have real primarily organic growth i think that is the fundamental problem and what we've had in recent years is a tendency to

below and welcome to crossfire gang peter lavelle as the arab spring continues to sweep the arab middle east where does this leave iran with a new and democratic regimes in the region now deceased themselves from washington and how is the arab spring changing the islamic republic live can. still live. crossed out the fate of iran in the storm of the arab revolutions i'm joined by mohammad marandi in toronto he's a professor at the university of tehran in london we go to jonathan paris he is a security specialist and senior fellow with the atlantic council and author of the recent report prospects for iran and in irvine we crossed the serai soap or ehrlich she's an independent research writer and political commentator all right cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want but first let's look at iran and its neighborhood. where. the west. democratic tsunami you're in the see very intense diplomatic predicament the revolutions in egypt and tunisia where highly praised public were also welcomed revolt in jordan and libya. will be isolated iran may actually find ne

welcome back to talk i'm peter lavelle three mines you were talking about u.s. and pakistan after bin. i. can. say. ok i'd not like to go back to you in washington here we haven't mentioned the eight hundred pound gorilla in this discussion it's getting out of afghanistan the u.s. wants to get out of afghanistan the pakistanis want the americans out of pakistan but they just have different visions and doing that that's what's causing all this tension here isn't it least at this stage here would go all of the gloating that we've heard. yes absolutely afghanistan. is a very contentious issue between the united states and pakistan as and i mentioned before the united states and pakistan have conflicting interests in afghanistan. the taliban and its associates are the enemies of americans and the afghan government while they are supported by certain circles within the pakistani establishment this year two thousand and eleven will be a very critical year in afghanistan in july the obama administration is planning to withdraw. begin withdrawal of troops from the count

israelis to the negotiating table the two sides find themselves no closer to a resolution artist peter lavelle and his guests discuss what it why take to achieve the long awaited and elusive peace process this coming your way later today . you have to understand palestinians see all of israel also as part of their patrimonial own land and you nine hundred forty seven forty eight when israel was created palestinians were at least three quarters majority now when they recognize israel in its sixty seven borders they gave up seventy eight percent of what they regard as their country it is the mother of all compromises and i think to ignore that and to to look at the occupied territories in isolation from the rest of mandatory problems so i don't see oprah or israel's being asked to give up this is very important territory that so dear to us ignores what palestinians have already agreed to. take. they international monetary fund is currently searching for a new managing director following last week's resignation of dominic strauss kahn over a sex scandal france's finance minister christine lagarde

along in loving across congressman peter lavelle a loveless marriage or a dangerous embrace take your pick but pakistani american relations probably can't get any worse barring a complete breach where is this troubled relationship going and can both sides find a common language regarding the fate of afghanistan. ok. across the pakistani u.s. relations i'm joined by our men my g.d.r. in washington he's a senior research associate at the american enterprise institute in islamabad we have seen a sad case she is a security analyst and columnist and in tucson we cross the hudson she's an associate professor at the university of arizona all right folks this is cross talk that means you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it but first let's take a look at where this troubled relationship stands now. pakistan and the u.s. strategic allies on a collision course both say they're committed to fighting terror though each in its own way and both have divergent ideas about geopolitical interests pakistani american relations have rarely been described as good but i can hear us nav

it's all going in the right direction and he's in our reporting there and later today or if he is peter lavelle grills he has crossed yes to work again suspect in this and whether it's more of a sig banquet down crucial political platform. as leaders of the group of even france more and more question the usefulness of this elite club of countries is it just a talking shop can it really influence the global agenda like it once did and should the g eight be abandoned in favor of the g twenty. in. particular. and leading towards an opposition figure says he's being framed by security services have released a recording where she seemingly calls for an age of stop rising you know gordon aza denies the tapes ability and says her words have been manufactured. and so on just one and we want to contest the princes and state for certain but there is one thing i know for sure i never said that i accept the possibility of saloons being victims as well civil war not only did we do everything we could to prevent it but we did prevent it. the tape was released by georgian police following an eye of mass oppos

locate welcome to crossfire tonight peter lavelle with the killing of osama bin laden u.s. president barack obama has an historic opportunity on afghanistan will he use it and what is the downside if he doesn't. across the u.s. strategy in afghanistan i'm joined by bradley blakeman in washington he's a former member of george w. bush's senior staff and currently a professor at georgetown university and in islam about because the shop i could hear is a risk and security analyst all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want but first let's take a look at some of the issues and opportunities facing president barack obama when it comes to afghanistan. more than a week following the killing of al qaeda or leader of someone bin laden the question that is gathering steam is going to the u.s. will now change its war on terror strategy a decade of chasing the specter of the modern has marred the u.s. in a war against an enemy that is stateless and that seems ubiquitous with operations in afghanistan iraq pakistan and yemen the cost of the

in the latest edition of our he's cross talk host peter lavelle and guest discuss how the world will change after bin laden's death and what will happen if the u.s. pulls out from afghanistan immediately. what is the vacuum that you're going to leave behind and are you going to wind up having afghanistan become again a haven for groups that will attack the u.s. or western interests so i think he might do that and hope and pray that the next major attack doesn't come from afghanistan and doesn't come on his watch but you know i things have a way of repeating themselves you know the water flows the same way down to the ocean if you don't change its course soon and unfortunately i think that's what would happen. as a different perspectives on the story you can find all of them and more on our web site r t v dot com and dreamer today's interview with a political expert maxim ship shango he thinks osama bin laden has become a mythical figure in u.s. politics and if a certain significance in the fact that he was buried at sea in our blog section are u.s. based blogger named not palin says

welcome back to on the money i'm peter lavelle we're discussing russia's energy sector. but first let's see whether russia is too dependent on its energy resources. surging crude prices of late two thousand and ten and early two thousand and eleven have an upside of a budget deficit at one point keep the past seven percent increasingly approaching balance with energy revenues pushing consumption and g.d.p. growth of the downsides include aggravation of russia's chronic inflation concerns with brutal strengthening stoking consumer imports some warn dutch disease but others note the russian symptoms you can make a classical example of the dutch disease is that your dependence on oil and gas or other natural resources pushes up to really change shape and distortion by the fashion industry well russia hasn't got a manufacturing base to destroy the first place. well you have a dependency with soft goods and suffering is that you might have a hurdle for developing a manufacturing industry the russian government has long been consumed about over dependence on from moderately re

peter lavelle's on the money is on in a few minutes all that softer a recap of our top stories comingup in a couple of minutes. world . tomorrow's top jumpers come to moscow a quick dash for its digitized radar upgraded and automated guided by gyroscopes propelled by powerful new engines russian motors ready to move. we've dumped the future covered.

a low in welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle issues of relevance and even legitimacy as the jostling continues as to who will succeed the now disgraced dominic strauss kahn at the international monetary fund many still question the usefulness of this global financial institution is the i.m.f. a political tool of the west or an unfortunate necessity. to kick. start. to cross-talk the role of the i.m.f. today i'm joined by peter chola in london he is a program manager at the bretton woods project also in london we have daniel ben-ami he is a journalist and author and in cambridge we cross to jeffrey frankel he's a professor of capital formation and growth at the harvard kennedy school ok gentlemen this is crosstalk that means you can jump in anytime one and i very much encourage it but first let's look at some of the issues surrounding this global financial institution. in the wake of the scandalous departure of its former head down an extra scan of the international monetary fund has been faced with the tough task of self-examination as the money lending parthenon seeks to find a new

go and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle with the killing of osama bin laden what has changed u.s. president barack obama says justice has been done and that the world is better and a safer place bin laden is no more so as the so-called war on terror been worth it . can. you cross talk the war on terror in the post bin laden era i'm joined by patricia de janeiro a professor of international security at new york university's department of politics in irvine we have mark divine he's a professor of history at the university of california irvine he's also author of the book heavy metal islam rock resistance and the struggle for the soul of islam and a new buy we have ben calhoun editor in chief at pakistan. dot com pakistan's alternative policy institute and news service all right this is cross talk here you can jump in anytime you want here mark obama said the world is a better place it's a safer place and importantly he said justice has been done over the last ten years over the last ten years on the war on terror has justice been done. i think as a new yorker a lifelong new yorker