my guest today is ayad allawi who was the country's vice president twice. does the current crisis spell disasterfor iraq? ayad allawi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. thank you for having me on the show. well, we talk to you in the wake of the dramatic events that include of course, the assassination of qasem soleimani. did you see it coming? well, i saw things escalating in fact, and i saw very clearly that there was serious threats from the united states, based on what has happened to some of their bases in iraq, and what has happened to the embassy. the siege of the embassy, the american embassy, but we didn't expect of course, this kind of thing to go undiscussed with the iraqi government, whatever government we have. and this created a big splash, really, in the overall — in the scene and theatre in iraq. well, you call it a big splash. it has prompted fury, of course, in tehran, but it has prompted mixed reactions in iraq. we have seen anger, but from some iraqis, we've also seen an element of celebration. so what are your feelings? what is

the former prime minister ayad allawi joins me. >>> plus, we get t amerin perspective from stephen hadleyiser to hrident george w. bush, and democrat senator murphy. >>> then. >> this is our war.ir th f is australia's war. >> an uncontrollable blaze consuming australia. th