starts both from assad and also kind of from the west is. about it's well so i think actually that does tend to be scaremongering these things will be a good place to stay with you let me let me stay with you i mean if you're saying that scaremongering this is internationalizing it ok and this again is what we heard assad must go because when you say when the united states says when britain says when france says somebody has to go they have to go don't they and internationalizing it bringing in the al qaeda element. helps make that happen. well yes of course i think that's true and i think we saw with what we saw with the un security council china and russia vetoed the resolution and now it seems like it's going to go to the general assembly again it seems like they're going to try to have combinations of assad's britain and france are talking about working together to find ways of helping the free syrian army they're just trying to boycott the process because it didn't work for them it's the same that you see of a lot of kind of global elit

to cause the assad regime either to fracture or to force the assad's inner circle to accept some process of negotiated transition. or to simply persuade someone surrounding the regime that the conditions were in place that would justify an internal coup of some kind, an overthrow of the regime. this was the underlying logic of u.s. strategy of the raise the cost of loyalty with this cascade of consequences leading to the end of the regime. yet, here we are, almost a year after the policy began to be put in place, with virtually no evidence to suggest that it is working. we know that the regime is frayed, and that there are internal tensions within the regime. that the economy is taking a significant toll from the impact of economic sanctions. but the kind of cleavages that might cause core regime supporters to defect have not occurred. and this, i think has to be recognized as a very significant failure and as my colleague bassam suggested, it is in many ways a failure anchored in a misreading, a fundamental misreading of of the resilience of this regime and the foundations it could draw

the remains are level us and putting more pressure on syria's president assad to step down confirming new sanctions against the country are on the way for more on this i'm joined by b. rupees political scientist dr nada harsh week so western states seem to be skeptical about the referendum on the new constitution in syria you are saying it makes a mockery of the uprising there but do you think this referendum can ease the tensions within the country. first of all definitely i do so and second. it was never asked from president assad from the beginning to actually to do any kind of reform in the country it was from the beginning and it was very well known that it's a conspiracy to get the president to step down and to change the whole regime so if we can read history we all know that syria geographically is very important to the west by bringing it down they can definitely get to iran in this is what's all behind that so by asking by doing all of these things president assad has as from the first moment he tried to do every kind of reforms that is asked from him and from the reaction t

we noticed this week is it's the anniversary of the assad dictatorship. the current president's father took over syria 41 years ago. in afghanistan today, as many as a dozen people died in continuing protests against the burning of the koran. protesters emerged from midday prayers in kabul and in other cities to battle police who sometimes responded with gunfire. rioters burned nato supply trucks today. two u.s. soldiers were killed earlier this week. the violence started tuesday when afghan workers saw copies of the muslim holy book being burned with trash at a u.s. military base. the u.s. apologized saying the korans were unintentionally mishandled. there is surprising evidence tonight that iran is moving faster than we thought to expand its nuclear program. we asked david martin to tell us about a new report from the u.n.'s international atomic energy agency. >> reporter: for much of the world-- and israel in particular-- iran's nuclear program is a ticking bomb. and it just got louder. today's u.n. report shows iran's centrifuge plants have been busy

regime the assad regime has continued to deny that they do this these u.n. syrian ambassador to the u.n. claims that they're actually protecting these demonstrations russia itself has called on the syrian regime to refrain from excessive use of force so i mean all parties here agree that the syrian regime is using excessive use of force is killing its own civilians i don't understand why we're talking about. an intervention would then would then effect on syria what that would have after effect that would have if the situation continues the way it continues it's going on now it's going to become much worse and then the likely possibility of an intervention at that stage would be a catastrophe but what we're asking for now is some solution for some sort of protection for the civilians we've seen a failure of that from from the international community we've seen a failure in politics because countries like russia or china are supporting the syrian regime i think russia in particular and we've seen collision of statements between russia and between syria and do

intelligence official about anti assad extremists washington has failed to widen its ceasefire calls to include armed opposition and therefore basically ignoring the fears of a huge part of the syrian population who don't want radicals gaining momentum and dragging the country into chaos i'm going to check our reporting from washington r.t. . iraq has admitted that weapons and fighters are seeping across that six hundred kilometer border with syria to fight the assad regime the army of free iraqis which once for u.s. troops in iraq is now heading to syria the most common claim aim is to monitor the border for any sign the iraqi government is helping with the beleaguered syrian regime baghdad has tightened security in all the area which has also become a center for arms smugglers director of international studies at trinity college in the u.s. rejects the shutters told me earlier that he thinks any extremist infiltration into syria's fragmented opposition could lead to. consequences. it is the bird fighters who have moved across the border from iraq into syria. have been engaging the

syrian government and that will bear large responsibility but i'll gladly violence and while president assad has announced a referendum on a new constitution. and at rallies marking the one year end of the pro-democracy uprising in bahrain because the stakes here in the other country down with police he's in tactics and what happens from the u.k. . and a very warm welcome from all of us here in moscow this is all she with me our thanks for joining us first iran has reportedly warned six you countries it might stop supplying them with oil in response to a series of sanctions which include an embargo on tehran's key export and iranian official has added the only reason they're not stopping crude sales immediately is europe's extremely cold current temperatures are she's drake agrees reports now from greece one of the countries believed to be subject to that oil could bite her on. the latest reports here what we hear is the iranian foreign ministry has cooled up these impasses of these six nations concerns and told them that cuts will happen but not right away or they will face a ban on exports

blame has since focused on assad forces attacking civilians and shell in residential areas.the beautiful yard calls himself a member of the opposition and intellectual not one his tresses from a social democratic group originally from holmes he blames assad for mistakes which allowed bloodshed at the start but he just defies what the regime is doing in his native city now he is the two i and he is trying to to to. protect civilians i think that in homs there are many gangs you know there is a title and everyone can claim that he belongs with this title and no one can ban him the danger posed by the armed forces was seen in the killing of a french journalist last month and b. says when he went to homs he put in his mind that the syrian opposition is very peaceful in the trying to frame them so he he was like a pioneer in the call and he was killed by the some gang attacks on government targets have become increasingly bloody themselves with twenty eight people killed and scores injured on an attack on a military base in a letter last week an f.s.a. free syrian army representa

s big push to get a resolution for assad to step down failed even though the massacre and shows how assad will do anything including opening up on entire neighborhoods just like his father did in order to stay in power. >> it is a tragic and desoperate situation in syria. >> one person is dead and two others injured after a propane explosionn near a california military base. several other homes in the area were evacuated as precaution . investigators are saying that there was a propane leak but not sure what ignited the gas. >> the supreme court will hear arguments on the enforcement law on april 25th. the courts final day of hearing is for the current term and arizona verses the united states and adopt tough immigration laws. at issue is whether the legislation will take precedence over arizona laws. >> the government said the economy gained a quarter of a million jobs. jobless rate dropping in the gop weekly media address. republicans saying that there could be more growth in the president would support the jobs bill. mr. obama told americans to tweet and phone lawmakers asking them to

that weapons and fighters a seeping across its six hundred kilometer border with syria to fight the assad regime the army a free iraqis which once for u.s. troops in iraq is now heading to syria the last government claim to monitor the border for any sign the iraqi government is helping the beleaguered syrian regime baghdad has tightened security in all the area which is also become a center for smugglers director of international studies at trinity college of the u.s. vision told me earlier he thinks that any extremist infiltration into serious fragmented opposition could lead to unpredictable consequences. it is the case their fighters have moved across the border from iraq into syria did they have been engaging the syrian army they're joining the kind of resistance there who were his team. this is indeed the key is no where did the human remains is not precisely the question the issue is how they will begin to categorize an insurgency it currently has no single leadership structure that was the problem in libya in libya as well there was a horrific libyan elite it was the face of the i

syria's president bashar al assad has ordered a referendum on a new constitution to be held in eleven days it could put an end to the one party rule of the president's bath party which is a tried in the current constitution you know one came amid reported violence in the cities of holmes and hamas some of the fiercest in the months long on rast maria an ocean reports from damascus. date for the people's referendum on the country's new constitution has been announced on wednesday it is expected to be held on the twenty sixth of february in eleven days the syrian government has been working on a draft for this new constitution for quite a while now and it has sad that the most important thing about this new constitution the most important change is that it implies the end of monopoly of the ruling party here in syria involved party has been in power in the country for the last fifty years actually since the beginning of the uprising here in syria last march protestors have been calling for democratic reforms and for amendments to the country's key law the wake of violence that followed

yes, assad might not survive. not survive on the long-term. to be a very deeply entrenched, very bloody, very costly, very prolonged conflict, indeed. >> we're going to have to take a break. i'm going to ask elliott abrams what he would do about the russian and chinese vetoes, and we're also going to talk about iran with syria's main sponsor when we come back. >> we shut not watch that happen and sit by. we should give them help, concrete help. >> would that expand this insippent civil war? >> it's terrible advice, fareed. zero-to-sixty in less time than a porsche panamera s. the 429 horsepower genesis r-spec. from hyundai. imagine if you could always see life [music] in the best light. every time of day. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it is meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend again

and here is syrian president bashar al assad. look at our priority now is to regain security which our country has enjoyed for decades this can only be achieved by using the terrorists with an iron hand. for those who are using weapons to kill well civilians now in both countries that iron hands targeted a sunni muslim opposition in wars that took on increasingly sectarian tolan's in fallujah u.s. forces and the shia iraqi troops were seen as infidels in syria their religious wrath is aimed at assad's alawite forces according to some disparaging comments salah white monkeys satanic troops those are just some of the many slurs now amid the violent clashes gut wrenching images like these showing the human toll of war streets littered with bodies of the wounded not to mention those of the dead but this is where the similarities end civilians did suffer most in both wars and yet the stories of pollution innocents remain largely untold most reporters in two thousand. for were embedded with the u.s. troops today the few who do sneak in

i think it is the regime of bashar al assad is at stake. i think what the international community is trying to accomplish is a way to make it a political transition to resolve this question with a minimal reference to the use of force. nobody is talking about nato forces going in or external intervention. in fact, i think what the qatari prime minister said was that that could be counterproductive. leave it to the arabs to solve the problem, but in order to do that, they want the entire engine national community to get behind them. >> even if a resolution is passed, will president assad actually care? >> well, it is the best chance. as you said early on, the pressure has been mounting. there are economic sanctions, disapproval of his fellow arab countries. now, if the greater powers align themselves also against the way he is behaving, perhaps the message will get through, but i think your point is taken in the sense that he has been hanging on stubbornly, and at the moment, at least, what it looks like is that he is preparing himself to co

it requires assad to step down. it asks u.n. secretary general to appoint the special envoy to negotiate with the assad administration. resolutions adopted by the body are not legally behinding. but it sent a message to the assad administration. more than 600 people are believed to be killed in the crackdown. and western leaders are weary of stepping in. we have a report from cairo. >> reporter: protesters across the middle east and north africa got caught up in the moment of the arab spring. western powers got caught up, too. the movement got started in libya. they came armed with u.n. security council resolution to protect civilians from the use of force. but fallen leaders have had difficulty reaching consensus on syria. they worry about what might happen if they intervene. some fear the turmoil in syria could spill over to the other countries. and lead to a larger conflict. the assad government provides weapons and funding to the shiia militant group hezbollah, a strong enemy of israel. >> translator: the united states and i

intelligence officials about anti assad explain mr washington has failed to widen its ceasefire calls to include armed opposition therefore basically ignoring the fears of a huge part of the syrian population who don't want radicals gaining momentum and dragging the country into chaos i'm going to check out reporting from washington i keep. iraq has admitted that weapons and fighters are seeping across that six hundred kilometer border with syria to fight the assad regime the army of free iraqis which once fought u.s. troops and iraq is now heading to syria the masked gunmen claim their aim is to monitor the border for any sign iraqi government is helping the beleaguered syrian regime baghdad has tightened security along the area which has become a sucker for arms smugglers lawrence davidson professor of middle east history and west chester university says this fits with the theories that the uprising has driven from outside. i think that. the people were picked up to go in syria are largely foreign funded and some of them are in fact foreigners and some of them are in fact deserted e

syria's president bashar al assad has ordered a referendum on a new constitution to be held in eleven days according to the country's state run news agency it could put an end to one party rule the president's baath party which is in shrine in the current constitution changes to the law were a key demand by the opposition at the beginning of the country's eleven month uprising but in the wake of deadly clashes with the army many opposition leaders are now insisting that the president quit you know it's a bit of a referendum came amid reports of new outbreaks of violence with tanks shelling the fourth largest city of hama and in oil pipeline growing up blown up in the rest of city of homes but with reports of atrocities coming mainly from the rebels there are concerns that one side of the conflict is being largely ignored or tease maria if an ocean reports. since the beginning of the uprising in syria last march the regime of bashar al assad has been accused of refreshen torture and killing but with abad much of homes blame has since focused on assad forces attacking civilians and shel

he said president assad was willing to negotiate with the opposition groups.president assad said it was the task of the vice president to make contact with all opposition groups and to organize national dialogue, which will be inclusive and which will involve all political forces in syria. we hope that all those who have influence on syrian opposition groups will press them to start such a dialogue." in homs, it is hard to believe the government is interested in talking. latest footage appears to back the claims of activists that there is no letup in the government's bombardments. >> later, we have an exclusive report on the workings of the syrian security apparatus. >> first, to the united states with the republican race for the white house is as wide open as ever. >> rick santorum won caucuses in three states on tuesday, an unexpected victory. >> pundits had already begun talking about mitt romney as the front runner destined to become the nominee to take on president obama. well, not too fast. >> santorum says his win proves americans are craving a purer fo

the secret behind president assad's grip on power.internal divisions to his advantage. we'll explain that just ahead. >>> some say it is a cry for help. others a violent protest of a life they did not choose. coming up, we'll tell you why dozens of women in afghanistan are landing in the hospital burn unit. allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. >>> he wrote in a way that they lived on in our minds generation after generation. >> charles dickens and his enduring appeal as the world marks 200 years since his birth. >>> and an in-depth look at bashar al assad. how he has managed to cling to power as calls for his overthr

and i to go to you first it seems like western powers have an agenda here they want to get rid of assad but they want to stop the killing as well aren't they mutually contradictory well this is a common problem we've seen this over and over again around the world we've seen it in libya this recently but you have to remember back we had a similar situation in liberia we've had a longstanding problem in the sudan so in a sense it's not a new problem i'm not really sure if the world is divided i think generally people agree that the syrian government has been excessive in its use of force and constructive so i do think in a sense there is yet unanimity and the people think what this government is doing is wrong ok what do you think about that james in los angeles here because we have kind of a new situation right now the u.n. security council didn't vote for the any kind of intervention a removal of assad is a precondition to move forward here so we kind of have a deadlock obviously i mean what what's the next move here because we're going to get a coalition of the willing that will just g

assad would have 15 days to step down. if he doesn't, the security council could take what it calls further measures, including economic sanctions. russia, which has veto power objects to the resolution, saying it could lead to civil war or eventual military strikes like the nato-led bombings in libya. >> the role of the international community should not be one of exacerbating conflict or meddling by the use of economic sanctions or military force. >> the united nations estimates more than 5400 syrians have been killed since the government cracked down on protesters last

assad himself to step down, which, of course, was the u.n. resolution that the russians and the chinese vetoed. what the russians can actually do -- really, one doesn't know at the moment -- they have condemned the attacks on them by the u.k., by the u.s., by many other members of the u.n. security council, who said that the veto by the russians and chinese was giving the syrian government basically a license to kill, that their responsibility for the bloodshed would be on their heads, and the russians are saying that reaction is hysterical. so they're playing a part like they've played before. they did it with iraq in 2003. they did it in the first iraq war in the 199 he's. in each case, they had high-profile missions to try to stave off a move perhaps towards military action. it didn't succeed in any way. of course, there's no sign from the other members of the u.n. security council, who voted for the u.n. security resolution, that they are contemplating any military intervention as things stand at the moment. but the arab league, the arabs

president assad is supposed to protect us. he just protect himself. >> we race to another town and an opposition rally. it has been arranged to avoid unwanted attention. the rebellion is almost one year old and a gathering pace. a chance for the downfall of assad. not everyone is against the president. some are afraid of what these people want. we are watching the start of a takeover. there is a clear risk that ethnic and religious differences could become divisions and spill beyond the borders. there are many front lines in this battle. we were taken towards one of them. dozens have died here -- thousands have died here. like other places, government troops have moved into this area, where homes have been shelled and civilians killed. >> we have just been brought into this building. we are told the syrian government positions are just a few hundred meters in that direction. we are also told they have snipers and tanks. they have been operating in this facility. we have to keep a low and be careful. you can make out a tank, a

all eyes on syria tonight as president assad promises reform but will it be too little too late we'll tell you about russia's latest attempt to defuse the tension between syria the u.n. and the world once again despite has been taken into the heart of baghdad were not on the outskirts were not in greater baghdad this day. off of the sidelines and into the story embedded journalists risk life and limb for the inside scoop but are the relations between reporter and subject becoming a little too close to be considered objective. is ridiculous no no we would need to do the job but we think the government could do a little bit better it would be doing known. well it's a hard knock life for the us that's right just blocks away from the wall street ball is america's fourth district welcome to the south bronx. it's tuesday february seventh seven pm in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our team. well we begin tonight with the deadly conflict in syria the u.n. estimates the death toll now what over six thousand russia and china facing condemnation from the west an arab states for

with a plan tosk bashar al-assad to step down. mass murder has a way of making the unthinkable thinkable and i still think that's a possibility. >> rose: do you think it's thinkable, tom? >> well, i think one of the things to really keep inind as anne-marie was speaking is that we've been through this experience with iraq and the reason ira today, you know, still has, i think some hope, whether it's 5%, 10%, or 50% of having a reasonably decent outcome was because there was an american midwife to basically midwife the transition between this minority-led regime to a constitutionally-bed multiethnic society. albeit hugely imperfect. but the fact is, it's because there was a midwife there that was trusted intermediary between the parties that iraq has a chance today. and, again, i don't know how big but has a chance for some kind of decent outcome. think of now syria going through the same process that josh landis talked about without any midwife and that's going to be very comicated. >> rose: what would be the midwife for you? >> w

to step down president assad represents what is left of the central government that is. keeping syria together as a country that is supposed to provide services to its people if you remove the central government then there will be care. it's all over syria and there would be a situation that would be almost impossible to control and the whole region will see into more bloodshed and the i think the russians have enough knowledge of the region to actually know what to expect and that is the wrong move forward if the united nation truly wants to set the situation with and to stop the bloodshed there should be a direction to words dialogue and two words negotiations and towards a peaceful settlement for this problem that is becoming ugly day after day and we are seeing very disturbing images on your screen a few minutes ago russia and china over a period lee said the syrian government and the opposition share blame for the ongoing crisis some western and arab states are stepping up the diplomatic offensive but only against the regime why do you think that is. well obviously

that assad is definitely going to lose and going to lose reasonably soon.think the message there is that we, on our side of the axis, we with the turks, we with the saudis, need to be doing more to help the side that is being killed by the assad regime and its supporters, iran, china, russia. >> fawaz, would you agree with that, that the intelligence and army are not convinced that assad is going down? that's why they're clinging to him, that it would be possible to pry them away? >> fareed, you and i, we talked six months ago when i was in syria. i don't know if you remember. and i made the point that it's not just about the security apparatus. the reason why i think this particular regime has a lot of staying power for several reasons. first, it has a critical basis of social support, fareed. millions of syrians, sadly to say, they're just hallowites. the christians are more fanatical. you have the bourgeois class. an apparatus that has remained solidly behind them. i'm talking about 300,000 troops and soldiers that can mobilize up to 500,000 special forc

security council didn't vote for the any kind of intervention a removal of assad is a precondition to move forward here so we kind of have a deadlock obviously i mean what what's the next move here because where we're going to get a coalition of the willing that will just go its own way like the west dating led by the united states into iraq. well peter thank you for having me on crosstalk what you have here in the middle east basically is an ongoing situation where we're fighting wars for israel and you have a divide and conquer that gender that goes back to the israeli likud nick voted you know on paper read it written a strategy for israel in the one nine hundred eighty s. and that's what these neo conservatives are following my good friend dr stephen snow gossipy haddad's has written about this in a book his book titled the transparent cobol and what we have are these dio conservatives which are the vanguard of the pro israel lobby in washington and they've started with iraq and they wanted to basically divide and conquer israel's enemies they base that iraq conflict an invasion o

it requires assad to step down. it asks u.n. secretary general to appoint the special envoy to negotiate with the assad administration. resolutions adopted by the body are not legally behinding. but it sent a message to the assad administration. more than 600 people are believed to be killed in the crackdown. and western leaders are weary of stepping in. we have a report from cairo. >> reporter: protesters across the middle east and north africa got caught up in the moment of the arab spring. western powers got caught up, too. the movement got started in libya. they came armed with u.n. security council resolution to protect civilians from the use of force. but fallen leaders have had difficulty reaching consensus on syria. they worry about what might happen if they intervene. some fear the turmoil in syria could spill over to the other countries. and lead to a larger conflict. the assad government provides weapons and funding to the shiia militant group hezbollah, a strong enemy of israel. >> translator: the united states and i

general assembly then one can say that the assad regime has been diligent. in the world at large and some decisive action to end a brutal conflict is required but today and which will actually install the friends of the west we hear about the friends of syria group but i'm afraid it's the friends of saudi arabia and the west group to. just talk a little bit more widely on the arab league in their initiative to deploy peacekeeping mission in syria just briefly tell us what role could the league continue to play in the country well it's very difficult to see at the moment a peacekeeping mission because this conflict and the assad government doesn't want to fears our troops will be sent to topple it like the kashmiris troops who went to libya to help to overthrow gadhafi without a peace to keep we've seen repeatedly peacekeeping troops simply either become ridiculous or they take sides and i think already we can see that several of the leading arab states have taken sides so where these people come from who could be considered new cool and impartial to both sid

they did so why president assad's tanks encircling and pounding homs of civilians killing up to 230 people and on the 30th anniversary of the massacre in ham as. we regard this as a grave error in judgment by china and russia. mr. speaker there is no need to mince words about this. russia and china have twice vetoed reasonable and necessary action by the united nations security council. such vetos are a betrayal of syrian people in deploying them they have loet down the arab league, increased likelihood of what they wish to avoid in syria, civil war and placed themselves on the wrong side of arab and international opinion. by contrast i thank the other members of the security council for the principle stand they took, in particular nonmembers of the council, moroccan azerbaijanan, germany, guatemala, india, pakistan, portugal, south africa and togo, all of whom voted in favor of the resolution. pakistan's representative to the council spoke for all of us when he said this resolution should not die by being active and engaged we should give hope to those expecting it from us. mr. speaker th

if the assad regime does fall, russia will lose its last ally in the region. that would mean they would lose the naval base in the mediterranean and a lot of arms deals with hundreds of millions of dollars, just the week before a russian leader reported that russia will deliver, for example, what is to be used against the protesters. >> markets, thank you so very much. meanwhile in berlin, police have arrested two men suspected of spying for the syrian intelligence agency. one is a syrian nationa the other holds dual german lebanese citizenship. >> prosecutors say syrian opposition activists living in germany had been kept under close surveillance by syrian agents. they, in turn, have been watched by germany's domestic intelligence service. last weekend, opposition protesters stormed the syrian embassy in berlin. for years, diplomats have been suspected of maintaining a network of agents. their job -- to identify regime opponents in germany. if those people return to syria, the risk detention, interrogation, and beatings. >> we will once again make it perfectl