rebels have lost ground to assad forces. neighboring nations are shaking under the weight of refugees, especially lebanon. it now has more than 800,000 syrians nearly a quarter of lebanon's population of $4 million. >> lebanon has opened its borders, has opened its arms, and the international community owes it to lebanon to do everything that it can to help lebanese society adapt to this even as we work with these refugees who have gone through so much suffering. >> reporter: the u.s. is pushing for revolution through deput diplomatic means, and talks have once again been de played. the american backed leader insists on the eventually removal of president assad as part of any agreement when the syrian president said there is no reason for him not to run for re-election next year. it was reported that saudi arabia and gulf nations are seeking another way around the u.s. to support rebels in their fight against bashar al-assad. iran's influence in syria and the fact that the u.s. is engaged in new diplomatic efforts with iran.

we started out wanting to get rid of assad. we didn't take any efforts either militarily or diplomatically that could get rid of him. we drew red lines and then didn't do anything about them, walked away from them. and now we're in a position where it seems we're just going to let this war drag on with terrible consequences that fred hoff described. you know full well the horrors of it. what i would like to do is get you to think about another possibility, one that i think could hold some promise in some shape or form. and that is this. i don't think we can supply enough arms to the good rebels, the sunni moderate rebels for them to prevail. even if we added to that some kind of american bombing presence, which our military does not want and which would be very costly indeed and we don't know how effective it would be, even then i don't think there would be a military solution. the russians, the iranians and others would support the assad regime all the more and we'd have a stalemate at a more horrific level for the people of t

we started out wanting to get rid of assad. didn't take any efforts either militarily or diplomatically that could get rid of him. we drew red lines and then didn't do anything about them, walked away from them. and now we're in a position where it seems we're just going to let this war drag on with terrible consequences that fred hoff described. you know full well the horrors of it. what i would like to do is get you to think about another possibility, one that i think could hold some promise in some shape or form. and that is this. i don't think we can supply enough arms to the good rebels, the sunni moderate rebels for them to prevail. even if we added to that some kind of american bombing presence, which our military does not want and which would be very costly indeed and we don't know how effective it would be, even then i don't think there would be a military solution. the russians, the iranians and others would support the assad regime all the more and we'd have a stalemate at a more horrific level for the people of the

and so when you have iran and russia backing assad and has more forces inside syria fighting for assad shia militias trained in iran fighting for assad the saudi arabia sees this as. just as serious a conflict as iran does and so they're going to provide military backing other countries are going to military backing to counter that and so even in promoting true assistance to it has been it has been the people talking time to just. saudi arabia has been traveling jihad these into syria long time before has been into the picture saudi arabia has suppressed of operating in bahrain it has funded the brigades who today launched the strike the bomb attack on the iranian embassy have also launched attacks on israel in the same vein around has been on the ground in syria what. anyone would would realize if you were a russian weapons and who's been nonstop showing there are so saudi arabia the most interesting thing to try and. clear that it's a proxy war you gentlemen gentlemen let me jump in here gentlemen let me go jump in ok we're here talking over each other ok joe what we just heard there

and so when you have iran and russia backing assad and hezbollah forces inside syria fighting for assad shia militias trained in iran fighting for assad the saudi arabia sees this as. just as serious a conflict as iran does and so they're going to provide military backing other countries are going to military backing to counter that and so even in promoting true assistance to it has been it has been talking time and just. saudi arabia has been traveling jihad these into syria long time before has been into the picture saudi arabia has suppressed the operating in bahrain it has funded the brigades who today launched the bomb attack on the iranian embassy have also launched attacks on israel some of the same even around has been on the ground in syria what. anyone would would realize if you were a russian weapons and who's been nonstop showing there are so saudi arabia the most interesting thing to try and. clear that it's a proxy war you gentlemen gentlemen let me jump in here gentlemen let me go jump in ok here talking over each other ok joe what we just heard there talking over each ot

assad is talking about running for president in 2014. he sees himself as an indispensable partner when it comes to the chemical weapons program elimination. the russians, in a war that you described in which there's no one to deliver a knockout punch, will continue to stand by assad. so in the face of all of that, what is our strategy? irish energy to get the russians, whether we need -- what is our strategy to get the russians, whether we need a stretch, what is our strategy to change their calculus? what is the strategy to get the moderate elements of the opposition to be able to come together with a plan for the country? what is our strategy to be able to at the russians to help us, assuming that can be done, to press assad to ultimately leave? what is our strategy to move forward on the chemical weapons the structure and come as we are trying to do all these things together -- i just do not get a sense that we have a strategy. i wish the oz reservation that this committee passed in may would have been used at that time because the dy

we obtained this video of an islamic group opposed to assad's regime. it shows young people undergoing military training in the northern city of aleppo. >> translator: you have to hold the gun as if it's part of your body. you should keep calm, or else you'll miss the target. the enemy is right in front of you. >> reporter: members of rebel groups like this one adhere to sharia law. they believe islamic principles should be the foundation of government. >> translator: we'll overflthro the assad regime and establish an islamic nation on this land. >> reporter: officials from the united states and syria's closest ally, russia, are trying to help end the conflict. they are hoping to organize peace talks by the end of the year. syria's information minister says he welcomes the idea and that the assad government will prevail. >> translator: opposition forces are staging mortar attacks near damascus just to draw media attention. government forces are winning battles in many regions. >> reporter: although president assad remains defiant, opposition leaders con

was on borrowed time. >> i think assad must go. it's not a question of if. it's when. he is no longer legitimate and that he needs to go. >> reporter: but he remains and with renewed confidence, his forces still using artillery and missiles and napalm. his opposition divided and holding on. his people forced from their homes, many starving. some reduced to eating leaves and cats. many believe bashar al assad got away with mass murder with the chemical weapons deal hailed as a success for diplomacy. the inspectors awarded the nobel peace prize and assad himself coming off looking cooperative. in washington today the u.s. ambassador to syria got a grilling. >> a mother watching a child starve to death is not really comforting that that child has not been killed by a chemical weapon. >> reporter: assad has so far weathered the storm exchanging weapons for power. richard engel, nbc news, cairo. >>> now to this widening and nsa spying story. all of it coming by leaks by the former u.s. defense contractor edward snowden. tonight's revela

also provide for a full accounting of all assad's assets. if assad is hiding money in russian banks or elsewhere, we need to know where that money is because it rightly belongs to the people of syria, not to its murderous dictator. but our actions against assad must be wider in scope than simply the financial sector. and, therefore, the syria sanctions enforcement act looks at all the perpetrators of horrific violence who empower assad and it creates sanctions against them. this bill codifies existing executive orders that sanctioned senior syrian officials and people who sell or invest in the syrian government. it sanctions anyone who helps the assad government develop weapons of mass destruction or provides them with conventional weapons. they are responsible for the majority of killings in syria. they are complicit knowingly, purposefully. they are not merely the enablers, they are the providers of those assets used by assad against his own people. and we've seen how unscrupulous arms dealers continue to provide arms to the assad regime t

term, as a candidate of the supreme leader in iran, president obama in washington and of bashar al-assad in syria, it is an amazing work if you can get it. this war, which i believe it was a noble war that is my belief in it and you were kind enough over the years to give me a kind of a forum for this, but this noble war has got ten a tyrant. >> rose: robin wright? >> well, the prime minister al maliki wants more weapons from the united states, he is very concerned that his government, his military particularly can't control the growing insurgency, more than 7,000 people have already died this year, more than 1,000 last month, and he da -- his theme in washington is al qaeda is back and more dangerous than ever, and that he needs help from the outside world, it is a particular irony given the fact that just two years ago the iraqis really wanted the united states to leave, and even if the united states had been willing to leave a residual force behind to help the iraqis, the iraqis, this particular government wouldable, was dead set on getting the americans out and now he is coming back

you know, the regime of syria, the regime of bashar al-assad, the murderous regime is being sustained really only because of the iranian, the really incredible iranian effort that has been going on and that is largely carried on by transport planes that have been flying over iraq and essentially with iraqi permission. it is unclear if the iraqis had an air force and if they were stronger would they say no to the iranians we don't really know but what we do know is they allow those over flights to carry on and certainly against american objections but all of that comes back to, i think, to 2010, you know, the united states doesn't have a lot of influence there now. you know, we were there for nine years, you know, tens of thousands of troops, we fought a war there and lost a lot of people, we have virtually nothing there now and so we just don't have that much leverage. there is not that much we can ask maliki to do. he is coming to us asking for help but we can get a lot from him, but we don't really have -- we don't have -- we haven't had a presence in that country for two years now.

it's my view that by not responding quickly to the deployment of chemical weapons by the assad regime and delaying and taking it to congress and making a deal with russia, basically assad should send the united states a thank you note for buying it another six months or year or two or whatever it is. my view of iran and you would know better than i do but you can't tell us is i felt the iranian influence in syria and lebanon was somewhat exaggerated. i think they were striving to be influential. but the lebanese and syrians are not willing to be dominated by the iranians so it was a

in fact president bashar al-assad has said, who will we talk to on the table? does this opposition actually control the ground, so a lot of obstacles ahead. but we have to be clear, the international community is determined to push forward. the u.n. announcing a date, making it very clear, they are going to push forward because they feel there is no other position. >> thank you very much. zena. >>> introducing laws in bangkok as antigovernment demonstrators occupy government buildings. thousands have been demonstrate be for and against the government in bangkok and the biggest mass really since 2010. in a moment we'll hear from scott heidler, on the outskirts of the capital. but first veronica pedrosa. >> this is what's become of thailand command center for the economy. one of the most successful in the region. demonstrators occupied the finance ministry. they're from a loose coalition trying to force the government out. they went in, even though they were warned, police would try to take back control of the building. >> these are the biggest anti-government de

the opposition wants to know the president assad will go at some point.is that something the syrian government is willing to offer? like to ask about mutual positions. what about opposition? there are other countries with other oppositions. us to is thefor interest of syria. precondition,o for president assad to go or to stay is the decision of the people. >> some syrians must be insisting that it must be clear that at some point in the transition president assad will go. is this something the government is willing to commit to to get the process and the talk started? >> this has happened many times, that the only way he would meet his to the will of the people, through elections, through the ballot box. i do not know why when western democracy speaks about my , they want toia end this crisis and violence in syria and allow the people to express their will and decide the future of syria. >> if you and president assad have called for an end to the support on opposition, what about the support that they get from both sides? >> we did not need that help from

and that's i think the right way to go. >> does had a mean president assad stays in power? >> that's a very difficult question to answer explicitly. i have no way to speak authorize authoritatively on this. he was interviewed by german publication der spiegel, in which he sounded adamant. he was asked are are you going to run next year? he said i have not clearly decided. rather than he has to leave, he shouldn't run. whether the negotiations are constructive, if there's a chance of conthriving somethint- contriving in syria, that maybe a solution along these lines can be found. >> the threat of an attack prompted action on chemical weapons but the civil war goes on and people are starving in that country. has anything really imhaingd the civil war? >> -- changed about the civil war? >> when you talk about the civil war you beg the question, what is the war about? this is whether i refer to it as a sectarian war. this is essentially a war in which two arab states decided to engage in a conflict with their religious opponents, a conflict deeply rooted in history. but for whi

the official position is that assad is gone. that we are going to be -- syrian beyond assad.hey are trying to protect the people who are with assad the alibis. so they want a coalition government of moderates. it's different they see syria where hezbollah has basically been used as a war to put to -- to stop to prevent iran's original enemy from coming in. using hezbollah, iran, iraq, and others. it cannot fight the u.s. inside the borders. that's why iran has decided within the last 20 some years. if iran, syria, and whatever. syria is iran's strategic from the revolutionary perspective. because of that, the solution that syria iran come in to this it's going to be complicated. there's a serious struggle within the country. with the leader -- i see how to proceed. they want the coalition government and the revolutionary goal and the other people are not yet -- thank you. >> ambassador miller? >> normally sense for all the parties in the region particularly party like iran to be involved in the outcome of what will happen to syria. we know that it's been destroyed . the old f

the border is controlled by forces loyal to assad. as we drove toward damascus, there was a billboard with assad's portrait and the slogan "syria is protected by god." the city is about an hour away from the border. and we had to pass eight checkpoints on the way. government forces and police are stationed to prevent rebels from entering the capital. the city's center is plastered with posters that celebrate the president. but all residents want is peace. >> we want to stop the blood and stop war. we don't care if the person is bashar or other person. >> reporter: the war is claiming more and more lives. i saw many new graves. some were soldiers in their 20s. assad's forces and other armed groups such as lebanon's hezbollah have been taking back towns held by opposition supporters. they appear to have the upper hand. but don't seem strong enough to control the whole area. syria's main opposition group have long insisted on assad's departure as a condition for peace talks, but the president doesn't want to compromise. neither side is b

assad is. he's close to the shiites since it is through the cities and iran is this you have at that point you started to see that on the street level. of the conflict started to actually resonate and started to stick up until that point it's really it's sort of most researchers it was more localized to the areas where it was being fought such as in iraq. and moreover more importantly the roots of the conflict is not the solution here we saw this issue of six hearing is and being instrumental lies by those who believe that an increase in security and warfare would benefit their geopolitical objectives. the united states has been aligned in large part with these sunni dictatorships are countries saudi arabia bahrain qatar saudi. and soon are in charge and largely at the moment i find myself largely opposed to the perceived shia you corrected that but not so much syria but i think that's the perception of the average american and more shia iran. could it be that you know for example the way pre w

presidential funds up to progress on syria's chemical disarmament lot of your putin phones bashar assad to discuss the elimination of his toxic arsenal in conflict and the prospects to end it. it's very easy to end one ton of it's hard to tell right now exactly how long we'll be down here doing this mission. went on a most still not twelve years as a terror of jail with the white house still failing to get it closed once and for all archie reports from inside one of the world's most maligned prisons on the future it may face. the tax haven on the take britain sends millions of pounds to prop up a rocky outcrop while taxpayers at home are in the dark about who gets it and why. it's the armrest in the outskirts of moscow police are being something down along with illegal immigration every friday they go on rays of accommodation places of work looking for illegal immigrants it's friday morning we go in with the police one of those rights. you're watching live from our moscow studios i'm lindsey france thanks for joining me. russia's president has praised the cooperation between syrian auth

to he goes and bashar assad easily determine the president of syria is too so it is quite. so we actually heard some opposition factions saying that they are now ready but i've been to syria many times including held rebel held territories and i've seen that the opposition is very much divided and sometimes fractions that are fighting president bashar assad in syria are not doing connected to each other they don't even know about the child it's so it's like even if we're hearing from one fraction but. now ready it doesn't necessarily mean unfortunately that all their position all the forces are now ready for dialogue and this is why it's quite difficult at this time to talk about any peace between the warring sides. they held key positions in the world's biggest military and they want one ton m a president closed thirty eight of the united states most respected retired generals and admirals admirals want the senate to take immediate steps despite pressure and promises the jail stills reached its twelfth anniversary punctuated by torture and hunger strikes along the way an a

it says there is no role or president assad in transition. send 1000t to soldiers to the central african republic. the situation there has been described as desperate. you are watching "france 24." us.ks for joining in ukraine, jailed opposition leader yuliya tymoshenko has gone on a hunger strike lending her way to the protests of the tens of thousands who wore -- marched through tm sunday, the country's biggest rally in nearly 10 years. and they are continuing to protest. the anger comes after the government pulled out of a landmark trade deal with the european union. >> protesters turn out again on the streets of key yahoo!, determined to make their voices heard. ordinary ukrainians are urging to govich's government back of the decision to scrap the european trade agreement. >> we are here for our future because we are not satisfied with the life we have now. we don't see any improvement in the future. at is why we are for european integration. >> the more people will gather here, the better the chance to victory because authorities are af

crazy and stupid if you may not like assad but one thing i cite is certainly not as stupid no evidence at all just to clarify you see it anyway that damascus is trying to keep any stockpiles at all as you've just explained at length. well. kevin this is a rough neighborhood you when you have a country that has been a kind of siege mentality for for many many years they're just next door to occupied iraq they. occupied by israel this is a kind of you know weapons of mass destruction is the norm in the middle east i mean you could possibly survive in this kind of an air neighborhood without some sort of lethal defense force in case of you know armageddon type warfare but i don't think this is a. this whole disarmament think this is a kind of a repeat of what we saw in iraq the whole weapons of mass destruction formula again being being you know being used by the west as a smokescreen i think they're desperate right now because it's very clear and has been clear from the very start that the syrian people are behind the government there is no alternative these groups are absolute psychopat

very public in iran that indicates that some members of the iranian regime believe that assad was the person behind the attacks and they're certainly not particularly comfortable with at the same time that they're opposed to the idea that there would be strikes that would get rid of assad and in his place either some sort of pro-american regime or more likely that syria would fall into the hands of al qaida and and elements controlled by saudi arabia because at the end of the day. from the perspective of these powers that are gotten themselves involved in syria the united states saudi could target turkey iran russia this is really not about humanitarian issues or anything like that this is a big geopolitical game that is being played right. and all sides are almost seem to have doubts as well as competing in interests even if within the position that they have taken the oil and natural gas at the center or to what i think the iranians support regime in syria is because he's an alawite which is arguably a shiite. and so many of the other countries are sunni controlled you know saudi ar

and agree on everything are unrealistic as long as assad is in power. not mad. he must receive some guarantees or in any case some kind of proposal on the development of political dialog in syria itself on possible elections and his personal fate. >> reporter: the russian prime minister actually said in a rare moment of humor during the interview that when bashir assad looks at the fate of colonel qaddafi he looks at the president there it doesn't improve his mood. now at the point he was making there was the fact that there needs to be some guarantees. but there is still no real sign of how both the americans and the russians are really going to reach out to get all sides around the same peace table in geneva. but the russians also did say the prime minister did say he thinks there should be many opposition groups, not just the main opposition group. now, i think that perhaps the united nations and the americans would want to see just one representative, one main representative. so there is still a lot of ground to cover. but we are seeing some course

earlier the syrian opposition coalition and that it would only attend peace talks if president assadsteps down they also refuse to participate if iran one of the major powers in the region joins the negotiations the us is also opposed to toronto taking part but president assad's advisor also told r.t. that position contradicts the previous deal on the geneva conference. this interim government has announced none it dimes that it is that i did the adventure never without precondition the problem is with the others host big money different languages different places and who keep putting conditions we've just learned that the russians and the americans are about to be that your neighbor too should be convened without any preconditions for money aside so that's fine with us and you can watch the full version of artes exclusive interview with president assad aid on our huge cheat channel. being a builder in british meant good well paid work and plenty of it when the crisis struck they would hit the construction industry hard to dado firms are doing more business than at any time in the la

a serious president assad refuses to discuss handing over power will the upcoming peace conference in geneva beat the rail before it even starts the answer to that coming up from the president's advisor who talks exclusively to us this hour. hello my name is kevin oh it's just after nine pm here in moscow you're watching r.t. international top story this people in hundreds of cities across the world are taking part in mass rallies planned by the global protest group anonymous the day of action is called the million mask march it's uniting those protesting against the violation of online privacy as well as corporate greed and corrupt governments protesters wearing those guy for smoke forks masks or demonstrating their allegiance with the anonymous activist group infamous for its online anti government actions one of the biggest rallies is expected in washington d.c. where thousands applying to show up for the march has go there now showing our correspondent can is amongst the crowds hi there how's it going. hi kevin i'm right in front of the white house this is the white house the stre

is the division within the opposition and they also are insisting that the syrian president bashar assad is removed before they're prepared to come to talks now this comes on the back of several weeks of foreign inspectors working inside syria and up until now the wood from these inspectors has always been positive. wellmost paulo is saying that despite the progress in syria's chemical disarmament hailed by the international chemical watchdog in the world there is still skepticism coming from america u.s. officials say the assad government may be trying to hold on to some of his toxic arsenal i spoke to gerald kogan about that is an author and journalist who's been writing extensively on the syrian conflict he says such statements there are just out to desperation on washington's part he thinks i think the west is very very desperate in syria right now they've been bogged down there now for two years with foreign mercenaries and foreign terrorist groups they've been basically sending over the border from turkey and from lebanon and from iraq and neighboring countries so they are not real

bashar assad of the determent president off serious too so it is quite. bad luck right now so we actually heard some opposition factions saying that they are now ready but i've been to syria many times including how rebel held territories and i've seen that the opposition is very much divided and sometimes fractions that are fighting president bashar assad in syria are not doing connected to each other they don't even know bout that child is so it's like even if we're hearing from one fraction but. now ready it doesn't necessarily mean unfortunately that all their position all the forces are now ready for dialogue and this is why it's quite difficult at this time to talk about any peace between the warring sides. there has been no development in iran's nuclear facilities in the last three months and that's according to a new report by the un's atomic watchdog their conclusion comes ahead of a fresh round of talks between two iran and six world powers and just as the u.s. congress considers further sanctions against iran ortiz more important joins me live

but opposition leaders say they won't attend unless president bashar al assad steps down. robert ford spoke at the senate foreign relations committee. he said syria's civil war is deadlocked with fighting among government troops, anti-government forces and foreign islamic militants. the united states and russia are trying to arrange a conference in geneva to find a political solution. >> the syrian opposition has a role to play here. it needs to tell other syrians not only what it rejects but also what it proposes in terms of a reasonable alternative to the existing assad regime. >> the united states is backing the opposition forces while russia supports the assad government. >>> more than 100,000 people have died during 2 1/2 years of fighting in syria. the most vulnerable victims of the war are the children. emergency coordinators at the united nations children's fund are warning of a lost generation. nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa has this report. >> reporter: three million children inside syria are affected by the civil war. unicef says many lack safe drinking water, he

avoided military action in syria but announced a deal that bashar al assad had agreed to turn over his chemical weapons. just a month ago, secretary of state john kerry was full of optimism that assad was giving up his 1,000 tons of chemical weapons for destruction. >> i think it is also credit to the assad regime for complying rapidly as they are supposed to. >> reporter: but was it too rosie a picture painted too soon in. >> i think the public wanted it to be over. the congressional actor will be oversold and the administration oversold because you wanted to be out of it. >> reporter: just this week about whether assad is telling the truth. >> we obviously bring skepticism born of years of dealing with this regime. >> time, in washington, and the secretary has been praising it as the greatest thing since sliced bread. >> reporter: a red flag, cnn has learned there is intelligence suggesting assad may be hiding some of his kept arsenal. the u.s., israel, france and the u.k. are all trying to figure out what is going on and if it could derail the agreement. the official u.s. policy, ge

how this is syria's president assad refuses to discuss handing over power will the upcoming peace conference in geneva be d. rail before it even starts the answer to that coming up from the president's advisor and exclusive talk with our. life now to central eleven pm it's kevin i would leave you very good to have your company tonight so first people in hundreds of cities across the world are taking part in mass rallies planned by the global protest group anonymous the day of action is called the million mask march uniting those protesting against the violation of online privacy as well as corporate greed and corrupt governments protesters wearing those guy fawkes masks demonstrating their allegiance with the anonymous hacktivist group infamous of course for their online anti government actions now one of the biggest rallies is underway in washington d.c. where hundreds marched on capitol hill activists there reporting several arrests he's got if you can join the protest is in the u.s. capitol. here in washington you have different protest groups marching under the umbrella of be anonymous t

, indeed, bashar al-assad himself, they risk losing what little credibility they have list with syrians inside the country who have sacrificed so much no the revolution as they see it to get to this point. >> and it is a source of hope for millions of americans struggling with mental illness and addiction. coming up, new rules for those trying to heal. >>> plus forced out the streets of san francisco transformed by the tech boom. >> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax cuts... the economy... iran... healthcare... it goes on and on... ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story theses are strait forward conversations, no agenda, just hard hitting debate on the issues that matter to you ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> 20million american women and 10 million american men will struggle with eating disorders at some time in their lives. lynn talks with patients and families every day. >>

in syria, a blow to the assad regime. rebels seize an oil field. the loss of the field means assyrian's -- bashar al-assad's access to crude has been cut off. >> iran says it cannot accept a nuclear agreement that does not recognise a right to enrich rain yu.. a demand that has been repeatedly rejected. >> tomorrow is election day in the republic of honduras. voters go to the polls to choose a president and a congress. the presidential race pits the leader of the national party against xiomara castro del zelaya, wife of manuel zelaya, a leader forced from office in a coup. it was too close to call after a campaign dominated by an issue of crime. it has the highest homicide rate with 91 killing for every 100,000 people. >> with crimes rampant. voters must stay safe. we heard reports of intimidation of one party and its members and people here observing the election and what we saw on saturday in the capital was the head of the police and an army general were standing right next to the head of the national electoral commission. they were guaranteeing