iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad, at times combative. >> some of the behaviors of the united states in our region encourages extremism. >> surprising. how would you feel if one of your children dated a jew? and heated, especially when i asked him about basic human rights for gays. >> do you really believe that someone is born homosexual? >> yes, i absolutely believe that. an extraordinary hour. "piers morgan tonight" starts now. mr. president, welcome to new york. many americans see you as public enemy number one. how do you feel about that? >> the creator, the almighty, the most gracious and the most merciful. and good morning to you. i wish to greet all of the wonderful people of the united states and all of the people who will see your program. at the end of the day, if you do have personal animosity towards me, don't transfer that on to the rest of the people of the united states. we love the people of the united states and they also wish in return peace and stability for all of the world. >> the big catalyst for protests at the moment in the middle east was the video that was r

phillips'. >>> back with my exclusive interview with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. it comes to asking him questions, there's no such thing as an easy answer, especially when it comes to the holocaust. do you believe that the holocaust happened? because many jews believe that you do not think it happened, and they have a view of you because of that. >> translator: the historic event that you spoke of, i have two questions. i had two questions for quite some time, never received an answer to either one. everywhere they allow a certain amount of research, of looking into historical events. whenever there are obstacles placed on this path, then a question mark or two will arise. why such obstacles? >> what are the questions that you have about the holocaust? >> translator: why in europe has it been forbidden for anyone to conduct any research about this event? why are researchers imprisoned? >> there has been extensive research into the holocaust. it is indisputable that over six million jews were annihilated by adolf hitler and the nazis. the question is, do you disput

. >> when we come back, i ask president ahmadinejad what it will take to stop the bloodshed in syria and you will hear his controversial views on 9/11. >>> let's turn to syria. where others fail, droid powers through. introducing the new droid razr maxx hd by motorola. now more than ever droid does. to come home for the holidays. that's double miles you can actually use... sadly, their brother's white christmas just got "blacked out." [ brother ] but it's the family party! really jingles your bells, doesn't it? my gift to you! the capital one venture card! for any flight, any time! that's double miles you can actually use! how illuminating. what's in your wallet? let me guess, am i on the naughty list again? ho ho ho! and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see o

it wasn't just the action against ahmadinejad specifically. these are ordinary people in iran who are protesting the government and their chant was late syria row, think of us, demonstrating that iran's regional policy are not necessarily popular among iranians because they realize the cost of iran's nuclear pursuit and support for the bashar al-assad regime. they don't want their regimes to support bashar al-assad, a brutal dictator in the region. sanctions had the effect of weakening iran's influence in the region. iran will have a harder time finding syria, but groups like hamas, hezbollah and this may be one of the reasons hamas has distanced itself from tehran to tehran is no longer able to fund hamas and some other palestinian groups as effectively. now, for sanctions are not a magic bullet. they're not a magic solution. they have to be coupled with engagement with the islamic republic and there's indications that tehran is serious about coming to the table. it has been series for several months. there's been indications that once it's b

some say mahmoud ahmadinejad needs to boost his own authority and we are looking at why the u.s. is opposing that, allison burns ktvu channel 2 morning news. >>> we have new details about a hero at cement plant in cupertino. they issued a report, they said the truck driver tried to tackle the gunman and save his co-workers. he hid from police inside a crawl space inside a house in sunny veil. deputies shot him when he came out the next day but he actually died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound. >>> it makes six suspicious -- suspicious fires in two weeks. one damaged a mortgage business in alabama and broadway. another one was a burning chair in an alley about a half mile away. now these two fires are very close to four other fires in the past two weeks which burned two homes and two businesses. >> i don't know what it tells me but i can tell you i am worried to death. >> so far nobody has been hurt in these fires. vallejo police want you to report any information you have about these cases. >>> cal trans is wanting to be more public about overseeing projects. they are overseein

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? [ forsythe ] we don't just come up here for the view up in alaska. it's the cleanest, clearest water. we find the best sweetest crab for red lobster that we can find. [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobster's crabfest! the only time of year you can savor 5 succulent crab entrees all under 20 dollars. like a half-pound of tender snow crab paired with savory grilled shrimp, just 12.99. or our hearty crab and roasted garlic seafood bake. [ forsythe ] if i wouldn't put it on my table at home, i wouldn't bring it in. my name's jon forsythe and i sea food differently. >> cenk: the controversy settling on that general petraeus has gotten broader and broader and more drama to it. now there's a second woman and f.b.i. agent and short list and second general. >> the widening scandal has turned its focus toward jill kelly who may play a part in bringing down petraeus, allen an

went ahmadinejad, and, of course, he's not a person who calls the shots.s on the outside to get anything right now, at a minimum he's a lame duck it is all about the supreme leader. but he is still part of the government. when he was in new york in september, i asked him, you know, i know you're a lame duck, i didn't put it that way, but do you think we might get something done? and he said, his response was, around 20%, issue. iranians want to do it something, and the americans and the p5+1 want something but i'm afraid there are so narrowly focused you'll get caught up in the old mistakes and this will be the sort of thing that overcomes the deep mistrust that both sides have. .. >> there has to be serious negotiation on a constant basis. content wide both sides have presented proposals where they are asking a lot and offering very little, and i've, you know, i've seen both sides. and this is classic. everyone does this. but in this particular circumstance in which neither side trusts one another, they take that proposal as evidence, aha, the other side

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? ♪ ♪ the trucks are going farther. the new 2013 ram 1500. ♪ ♪ with the best-in-class fuel economy. engineered to move heaven and earth. ♪ ♪ guts. glory. ram. very, very excited about that and very proud of that. >>beltway politics from inside the loop. >>we tackle the big issues here in our nation's capital, around the country and around the globe. >>dc columnist and four time emmy winner bill press opens current's morning news block. >>we'll do our best to carry the flag from 6 to 9 every morning. >>liberal and proud of it. >> cenk: now you know how the gun shop owners have been saying and the gun manufacturers have been saying oh, my god when obama is re-elected, he'll take away all your guns. hurry up and go out and buy more. [ crying ] there is a gun shop owner cope reynolds who is taking a different approach. he said if you're an obama supporter you cannot buy guns. yo

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? but whether he's climbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks or jumping into the market he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense from td ameritrade. >> eliot: it's tough to be a car enthusiast in the era of global warming. that may change with your number of the day. 3.9 seconds is how fast the tesla model s goes from zero to 60 miles per hour. this helps to explain why it just became the first all electric car to win "motor trend" magazine's car of the year. even beating competition such as the porsche 911. "motor trend" isn't just being politically correct. the model s got this award because of electric or not it h

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.e's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> cenk: all right, president obama was also asked about general petraeus and all the different scandals involved with him and general john allen the c.i.a. and the military. during his press conference today here was his quick answer. >> obama: i have no evidence at this point. from what i've seen classified information was disclosed that in any way would have had a negative impact on our national security. >> cenk: in this case let's move on. i think the investigation into these generals is now getting to the absurd. to be fair i thought it was absurd from the first place. why are we digging into these people's e-mails because a couple of women sent e-mails to each other because they weren't happy with how much they were flirting with the general. this is insanity. i'm no feign of the general for policy reasons but why are we looking into their lives. pau

strategy where they show they can protect themselves but also, you know, the vice president for ahmadinejadre statement that he said that he was going to break the grasp of obama on iran which is a euphemism in sort of the middle east vernacular they will cut his hand off which is pretty militant and tells them, you know what? on the heels of a new obama re-election they will not be pushed around by the west. they can blame their own economic woes on foreign powers, et cetera and displace what the conservatives in iran are blaming economic woes on ahmadinejad as against, say, it is from obama and we're protecting our country from the threat. melissa: do you think this works and is compelling to people who have been banned from buying luxury goods from abroad like toilet paper? >> well, you know, i think economically it is not going to have that much of an impact on sort of the distribution of goods as we see. there are bypasses being done through india, through japan, through china and also russia. but i do think ultimately the economy is faltering internally because of the government is ab

ahmadinejad accused the election as capitalists. obama wasted no time in showing his continued interest in the region. white house officials announced on thursday the president is expected to attend the east asia summit next week in cambodia. >>> presidential candidates are stepping up their campaigns. the front runner is taking a tough stance on foreign policy and the opposition camps announced a surprise move. park said historical and territorial issues are causing diplomatic conflicts in east asia. she said she'd also be open to dialogue. park said south korea will not tolerate provocations by north korea. that includes nuclear and missile development. they want to open offices in each other's capitals. she said she'd seek to hold talks with north korean leader kim jong-un. she said the senkaku islands are not open to negotiation. japan claims the islands, south korea controls them and calls them tokdo. park showed a willingness to negotiate on the deal. the negotiations have been suspended since 2004. opinion polls show park is

meantime iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad has wasted no time lashing out against the u.s., causeour presidential election quote, a battleground for capitalists. not really sure what he meant by that. i know it was supppsed to be an insult. i don't get. could be a language thing. anyway, now that the elections are over what does it mean for our foreign policy with iran? joining me fox news middle east analyst, walid phares. thanks for coming back on the show. >> sure. melissa: i have a lot of questions about this. let's start with that, shooting down our drone. does that mean that they have better intelligence about where we are and what we're doing and, i don't know, does that concern you? >> that basically, let me understand that the iranian military and intelligence are following our moves inside the area, the gulf, you know, used to be in iraq before they were spying on our activities but across the persian gulf. this shooting down of a drone is a message of attempt for intimidation of the obama administration because iranian leadership knows that the next step of this renewed

assad in syria hizbollah and lebanon and turkey is leader now he's in iraq iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad those after his by discussing how to bring peace to syria with it is over egypt and turkey at a recent summit in pakistan and just to underline the diplomatic mission to find no one violent and to the civil war on its doorstep dead on offer to host representatives from all sides of the fighting in syria at the closed door today gathering dropped no to violence yes democracy took his request for an aid to missiles to be deployed on its border with syria drew the scorn of iran's foreign ministry who said all that would do is aggravate tensions across the whole region and violence has actually already intensified following the latest interventions from western and some arab diplomats when the syrian opposition formed the syrian national coalition as and see it quickly received recognition as legitimate voice of the people from the likes of richmond france which even back its conviction by confirming it would send one of the help million dollars to get the new organization up and running

of the area, generally 95 east, will have a chance for some showers but this won't be a mahmoud ahmadinejad. we will be a little too far west. -- but this won't be a major deal for us. for today, mostly sunny skies. becoming cloudy and cold overnight. a lot of clouds around tomorrow with a chance of rain during the afternoon and some of that could mix for a little winter weather in the form of a little snow across the region. not expecting any accumulation right now. got to watch that track very closely. it is close enough that if it tracks a little more west, it could been impact for our region but for now, we are thinking it will be to the east. warmer temperatures on the way for the end of the week. let's do some traffic and say good morning to julie wright. >> all right, tucker. good morning to you. on the roads, you will find your lanes are open. no problems reported for those continuing to make their trip along the capital beltway in each direction over at the wilson bridge. you will find traffic volume moving at speed as you continue to make your way between oxon hill and alexandria.

the light he was conspiring with obama, that is about helpful for homicidal that is like mahmoud ahmadinejadndorsing him. >> and they can't blame sanity did i on the anti-islam video -- i was talking to jill but let's talk about the elections. election day is just a year away and pundits. dick morris says romney will win in a landslide. new york times poll and they are betting on bam, short for barack. what about the electoral popular vote split? it could happen. that is what my pectoral captain hard shell and he is never wrong except for vietnam. if someone could make sense of it all someone like joe biden. >> there is never been a day in the last four years i've been proud to be his vice president. not one single day. not one single day. >> greg: he is national treasure and mitt romney is making a final push in swing states. and they released a tv ad that will get heavy play in ohio. day can a look. >> i'm mitt romney and aapprove this message. >> greg: as an entertainment reporter all you care about is bradley cooper's dating habits. are you aware of an election going on. i want your bre

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? 15 succeeded in setting their houses on fire. at christmas, there was a lot of driving over the river and through the woods. and a little bit of skidding on the ice and taking out grandma's garage door. so while you're celebrating, allstate will be standing by. trouble never takes a holiday. neither should your insurance. that's allstate's stand. are you in good hands? ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet but they're gonna fall in love get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it'

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? unwrap your paradise. soft, sweet coconut covered in rich, creamy chocolate. almond joy and mounds. unwrap paradise. >> you're energized the war room. we don't like war but we do like anything that uses war terminology especially when it comes to politics or craziness. first up, the war on christmas. the fox nation site already that its war on christmas section in fighting shape. headlines like a gender neutral christmas? a swedish toys are us store are trying to be gender neutral showing a boy playing with a doll and a girl a toy gun. oh, my god how will we survive? i guess this is "news" because scandinavia is so close to the north pole and santa claus lives there and a traditional marriage with a man woman and some elves. you can click over to the fox news opinion section with news on the war on people like me, men, the author of how to choose a husband explains thi

mahmoud ahmadinejad addressed the. >> mahmoud abbas addressed. they say they need to give legitimacy to those negotiations. >> continental airlines was cleared of involuntary manslaughter charges linked to a crash after a air france concord. french court absolved them of all criminal wrongdoing. all 109 people aboard the jet were killed along with four people on the ground. the court also overturned the conviction of a continental mechanic who was accused of using a wrong part prior to the flight. >> new development in the david petraeus controversy that cost the c.i.a. director his job. for the first time we here hearing from the former general himself about his affair with paula broadwell. here is more on the letter he wrote to a friend and fellow general about that relationship. >> it's been almost three weeks since he stepped down as head of the c.i.a. after admitting he had a extramarital affair. we are hearing from the four-star general himself. in a personal letter to he was candid. >> he said dear jim, i can't thank you enough for your no

tomorrow she will meet with mahmoud ahmadinejad and sit down with egyptian president with mohammed morsi. as the international community pushes for a cease-fire we saw some of the most intense fire yet as hamas continued to launch rockets and israeli forces slammed targets in gaza. they publicly executed six men they accused of being spies for israeli. they were forced to lay on the ground and then they were murdered. one of those bodies were tied to back of motorcycle and dragged through the streets. david lee miller is live in southern israel. >> cease-fire, what cease-fire? in fact if anything is taking place it's been an escalation. today alone militants in gaza fired at least 130 rockets towards israel. one of them landed in a tel aviv suburb. it hit an apartment building but no serious injuries. this was the farthest into israel. also today, there were sirens in jerusalem as it turns out. a rocket there landed outside that city. ironically a palestinian village. throughout the day there was barrage after barrage in southern israel. i talked to one man a volunteer ambulance driver.

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? 15 succeeded in setting their houses on fire. at christmas, there was a lot of driving over the river and through the woods. and a little bit of skidding on the ice and taking out grandma's garage door. so while you're celebrating, allstate will be standing by. trouble never takes a holiday. neither should your insurance. that's allstate's stand. are you in good hands? ♪ ♪ >> eliot: at long last we know the shelf life of a hostess twinkie. 82 years. that's how long they last on the shelf. the first twinkie's came out of an illinois bakery in 1930. they became part of the american landscape. it helped make us what we are today for good or bad. that's coming to an end. hostess are liquidating the company today after repeated trips to bankruptcy court and a long battle with their workers union. it's hard to imagine a world without twinkies but then again when was the last tim

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? these talking points, that the right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. >> eliot: another disaster for which wall street was not prepared which brings us to the number of the day. unknown. that's the value of stocks and bearer bonds that the wall street banks may have lost when the vault holding the documents got flooded. they were stored at the deposit trucks and clearing corporation a company controlled by the biggest financial houses on wall street. they had just one

don't tnk they would care if the help is coming from a union worker or a nonunion worker or maoud ahmadinejadthere could have been a pause, because you don't ve a union card, kind of galls me, and i'm sure these people too? >> well, my guess is what happened is that the long eye long power authority has an agreement with the union, that any worker that come there,eed to be paid union wages or something to that nature. neil: no doubt but in times, all betting all rules all traditional ways are haning things should be off. >> shutly. as a rult. i think you know they got called on it and relented and we are a to get our crews in, we have out 129 workers there today. neil: thanks to you, you seem like a modest guy, you seem to be in a gentile, and police and firm way said enough of this nonsense, thank you so much. >> thank you, neil. neil: well c coming up, walmart health care warning, has small businesses squirming. why when it cuts back to healthcare for workers or just cut its out for workers, it is telling those workers, it is beyond our control? blame health care. that is right, blame healt

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? before the sneeze, help protect with a spray. before the tissue, help defend with a wipe. before the cold & flu season help prevent with lysol. because when you have 10 times more protection with each hand wash... and kill 99.9% of germs around the house with each spray... those healthy habits start to add up. this season, a good offense is the best defense and lysol has your family covered because that's our mission for health. >> you're energized the war room. we don't like war but we do like anything that uses war terminology especially when it comes to politics or craziness. first up, the war on christmas. the fox nation site already that its war on christmas section in fighting shape. headlines like a gender neutral christmas? a swedish toys are us store are trying to be gender neutral showing a boy playing with a doll and a girl a toy gun. oh my god how will we survi

when ahmadinejad was in -- of course he's not the person who calls the shots. he's on the outside if anything right now. at a minimum he's a lame duck. it's all about the supreme leader. he's still part of the government. when he was in new york in september, i asked him, i know are you a lame duck, didn't put it that way, we might get something done here? his response was, around 20%. issue. the iranians want to do something. and the americans and the people at plus one want something. but i'm afraid they are so narrowly focused they'll get caught up in their old mistakes and this won't be the sort of thing that overcomes the deep mistrust that both sides have. i don't think we can continue to kick the can down the road because there is a risk of war. there is a rick the israelis will strike. there is a risk of accidental war in the persian gulf between the navys. the longer we extend this, the greater the opportunity that someone's going to mess up and shots are going to be fired. as it relates to the specifics here going forward, i'm going as fast as i can t

you could bet both iranian president ahmadinejad and the supreme leader will watch tomorrow outcome veryly. my next guest says we could see iran literally change its ways overnight if romney wins. we have a fellow from the american enterprise institute. he joins us now with his opinion on all that. i sort of feel like iran is hell-bent on getting a nuclear weapon and whoever is president will not impact that. do you disagree? >> tre is huge difference between governor romney and president obama. the regime in tehran doesn't fear president obama. they believe he is not a credible individual. they believe that president obama is someone who gives concessions to iran, and, by the way, president obama is someone who is not going to use military force against iran. governor romney on other hand, considered a new ronald reagan. they fearim. they believe with governor romney in the white house --. melissa: really? what makes you think they're afraid of governor romney? >> i think that his performance in the third presidential debate has made the leadership in tehran realize they are facing a ne

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> michael: "the young turks" with tricia rose and michael hastings on the eighth day of this turmoil in the gaza strip and in israel, it turns out that a cease-fire was brokered with the help of hillary clinton by mohammed morsi with prime minister netanyahu. she met with abbas and netanyahu with to broker. >> united states welcomes the cease-fire in gaza. the rocket attacks must end and calm return. in the days ahead the united states will work with partners across the region to consolidate this progress, improve conditions for the people of gaza, provide security for the people of israel. >> michael: we welcome back tim mak from politico. thank you for being on the show today. i want to talk to you tim about who the white house is saying about this cease-fire that they brokered. this is the white house statement. the president said that the united states would use the o

before the election, the president was ready to sit down and have one-on-one negotiations with ahmadinejad that going forward now? >> absolutely. this is not secret. academics and intellectuals close to the administration spokespersons of the administration for many years have said we'll put some pressure on the iranian regime but in the direction of inviting them to either comply or sit down with us or with a third party and, try to negotiate a diplomatic solution for the problem the problem, melissa here, is that the obama administration strategy over the past four years was, we're not going to use any military. we're not going to partner with iranian opposition. we'll put sanctions. we'll not increase too much these sanctions hoping iranian leadership will come towards us. we saw over the past four years they did not so for the next four years we need, weither need to change the strategy or it will be the same results. melissa: if we sit down at the table isn't that a good thing? don't you think there could be good things coming out of talks? >> there is always good things coming out of

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.s joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> eliot: it has been two weeks since sandy and now we have karina-like ravages here in new york. basic necessities still have not been met. governor cuomo acknowledged as much today. >> 98% 99% of the people who can have their power back do. if you don't have your power back, it probably means power can't be restored to your home at this time. >> eliot: at least 58,000 people in the rockaways, long island and brooklyn may be without power for months. the costs costs are continue to go add up, more than 69,000 people have registered for fema assistance. while cuomo plans to petition congress for $30 billion if for appropriations to rebuild referring to the money as a wise investment. sandy has cost more than $50 billion. the government unable to respond to crisis is another cost that has no measure. joining me now for more on the recovery effort, errol louis host of ny 1's insid

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. say anything. what the hell were they thinking? [ ♪ music ♪ ] >> how could you not know who -- >> announcer: stephanie miller. >> idiot. >> jerk. >> dummy. >> whore. >> stephanie: oh, the whore. 1-800-steph-1-2 the phone number toll free from anywhere. let's go to ray in texas. hi, ray. >> caller: good morning. >> stephanie: good morning. >> caller: we have been watching a lot more fox now, because it's so fun. >> stephanie: now it is fun. >> caller: this is my explanation, the obama campaign used a dandy little document called the 2010 census, and found out we're greener more women, and more browner, and 49% of the population is now gray-faced men with $2 haircuts and they are going to have to move to the left which is the new right if they want to keep their seats in this congress or people are just going to shut them down, leave the religion and the race behind. >> stephanie: yep. >> now republicans are asking where are the white people at? >> stephanie: where are the white women a

go to cairo, to the shops of cairo, and you will see photographs of ahmadinejad, an iranian leader.because he stands up for the palestinians. that's the game the iranians play, and my guess is the more horrible the pictures are out of gaza the more there is a sense of this massive drift of power between israel and the palestinians. the more iran will be seen as one of the few countries that is willing to really stand up and speak against the west and, you know, they have, as you know, very colorful rhetoric, but that's all geared towards this regional gain where they're almost outwitting the arab against the palestinians. >> let me veer off to israel for a moment. benjamin netanyahu is up for reelection soon. how much do you think what's happening now, this rousing with gaza, does or doesn't have anything to do with him? >> we have to hope this has nothing to do with that because this is a very serious business. not only is he taking his own country into a military operation, he is risking regional stability because you have a whole different regional dynamic at play now. you have a

the iranian revolution, the iranian green revolution in 2009, those big street protests against ahmadinejad, remember that summer of big protests there? remember how the u.s. press called that the twitter revolution? twitter was not the reason those protests happened in iran that summer, but it did turn out to be an important tool that activists and regular iranians used to communicate to each other about that giant protest movement that was so threatening to the government there. when twitter was planning a totally unrelated shutdown for technical reasons around the time of those big protests in iran, the u.s. government intervened and asked the company to please delay that planned outage to another time when it would not crimp iranians' ability to use that tool. and twitter agreed. twitter did delay that planned service outage. with this shutdown of the whole internet in all of syria today, it's still under way. we're not sure how long it's going to last. but our government, the u.s. government, takes these things seriously, and u.s. officials today blamed and criticized the syrian govern