celis to bashar al-assad is >> i think his son who started out with good intent.y're people who would argue with that thinking he was the evil dictator from the beginning. i was able to meet with him frequently over a number of years and i think he is someone who in the beginning people had high hopes and critics petitions and probably too many high expectations, as it turned out. i found him personally to be unpretentious, even self- deprecating. over the years i saw him grow into the position of become much more comfortable with power. i don't mean that in a good way. what often happens is that with authoritarian leaders and authoritarian structures is that an alternate reality is constructed or orchestrated around this person by his sick of fans, but those who praise him on a daily basis around him and being the only human, people start to believe there's something close to a profit sent to save the country. at the he started to believe the press, believe the propaganda -- i think he started to believe the press, believe the propaganda. since the uprising began

she is an alloite like bashar. bashar's wife is a sunni. i talk about this in the book. many times i would go to the minister of administration and phi say first lady, and they'd say andrew, no, the first lady is bashar assad's wife. this is the wife of the president. so they revere her. how much of an influence does she have an bashar is unclear. she's not in the public realm. but we do know this is a regime which is dominated by the assad family so we think she plays a role but i don't think we understand what. host: donna has this point, anything to get us into war. is that what this is about? guest: no. i mean, for 18 months or so, the obama administration has gone out of its way and bent over backwards to go through the u.n. so it hasn't had to end up in a war. but sometimes wars happen. it's because you have two irreconcilable sides. a minority dominated regime that is brutal, that has a proven track record of being unable to reform, ruling over one of the youngest populations in the middle east outside the palestinian territories. these two forces are just swirlin

. >> kofi annan says he has had positive talks with bashar assad and agreed on a new approach to endinghe violence. >> the world's newest nation, south sudan, celebrates one year of independence from the north. we will look at the challenges facing the country. ♪ >> a new power struggle appears to be developing in egypt. the country's powerful military council has warned the freshly elected islamic president mohammed morsi to respect the constitution. this after the supreme court in cairo said it was illegal for mohammed morsi to reinstate the country's parliament. >> the body was dissolved by the supreme court last month on constitutional grounds. the muslim brotherhood shares a two-thirds majority in parliament, along with other islamists. >> a muslim brethren spokesman said the deputies will reconvene on tuesday, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown with the country's generals. >> president mohammed morsi appeared side-by-side with the generals at a military graduation ceremony on monday. there's no outward sign of tensions, despite the confrontational course morsi has taken.

a very close ally of president bashar al-assad. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. two men have been found guilty of systematically stealing babies from the families of political prisoners. they were jailed in an argentine court together. here is our correspondent. >> jorge videla has already been convicted of crimes against humanity. the trials of stolen babies is probably the most gruesome of charges he has had to face in court. mr. videle and bignone received lengthy jail sentences. the verdict was met from cheers from relatives and friends. this had been one of the most compelling cases in argentine history. the accused were said to have overseen a systematic plan to steal babies from political prisoners, who were tortured and killed there in the country's last military rule, which lasted until the early 1980's. the trial is the result of years of campaigning. the human rights organization -- >> this is justice. we started this in 1996. we did not know if we were going to make it to this m

government in syria the opposition candidates here in moscow to try to push for the removal of president bashar al assad. russia's a flood ravaged the southern region where over one hundred sixty people were killed and tens of thousands lost. on the former boss of barclays bank gives up a twenty million pound bonus after resigning. for a tidy payoff that claims that big bankers are rewarded. wrongdoing as the parliamentary failed. on screen online international news and comment live from our new center here in moscow this is. russia says it's ready to host another meeting of world powers over the continuing violence in syria members of the main syrian opposition alliance are in moscow and have reiterated their main aim is to oust the current leader bashar al assad. reports. no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of talks between the head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on wednesday now for with the violence in syria essentially entering its

true or false it is a bashar al assad ready to step down as president of syria i'm sure thomas in moscow and coming up with sort out all of the details. police great angry crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets on the streets of spain as the public rages against the latest wave of a stir he imposed on the country in return for a bank rescue by the e.u. . live from our new center here in the russian capital this is r.t. with twenty four hours a day where we start with our breaking news story this hour all members of the u.n. security council have voted in favor of a resolution extending the observer mission to syria the mandates being given a final thirty days but could be renewed if certain conditions on that. has the latest now from new york what's the russians reaction to this motion does moscow feel its concerns have been taken into account. the level of violence must be. one question of course is why then did the u.k. put another resolution to the vote on thursday knowing it would get vetoed. well many believe that it was purposely done because when russia and china did strike there

what happened and we can't confirm any of them with certainty, but it means that those closest to basharl assad, the assad family in charge for more than 40 years, those people have the security perimeter has been breeched and assassinated. this sis something unthinkable a year ago. this is meaning potentially the beginning of the end of the assad regime. whether the end comes in 24 hours, i doubt it. it is not one of the libya mubarak, 18 day type things, and nothing that we predicted anyway. and could it be weeks or months? that is the question. but in the end, this regime is now has been attacked the security perimeter breached and this is significant. >> we are hearing from the world leaders and heard from our own defense secretary leon panetta, and the british defense minister who are condemning this in the strongest language possible. i want the viewers to listen to this. >> the violence there has only gotten worse and the loss of lives has only increased, which tells us that this is a situation that is rapidly spinning out of control. >> in these circumstances, it is ever more imp

a key member of president bashar al assad's inner circle has defected.e're talking about the brigadier general manaf tlass. he's a friend of the syrian leader. his father served as defense minister to al assad's father for three decades. just recently, the israeli deputy prime minister told me right here in "the situation room" that bashar al assad simply can't hang on for much longer, especially if he starts losing his officer core. he says when the military starts to desert in large numbers, it will be, and i'm quoting him now, the end of bashar al assad. last year's mass uprisings in tunisia, libya, and egypt led to the ouster of their longtime leaders. we saw moammar gadhafi dragged through the streets and hosni mubarak caged in a courtroom. after a brutal and bloody conflict, could bashar al assad now be next? let's go to cnn's ivan watson. he's watching all of this unfold. give us some perspective, ivan. the defection of this general, general tlass, i sense it's a big deal, but what are the folks where you are saying? >> reporter: well, he comes fr

absolutely we've been hearing recently very hostile months from president bashar al assad on foreign nations involvement in this crisis in syria he has sat the u.s. is trying to destabilize the situation here in the country by providing the political support for armed gangs and terrorists operating here in syria he has also said that saudi arabia encarta are also involved in this crisis by providing financial support to the rebels and by arming and he has also mentioned turkey that he is providing logistical support for the rebels and answering the question whether you could be considered partially responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians here in the country president bashar assad has given a positive answer yes of course he has sat the u.s. is responsible for people being killed here in syria just a few figure is opposition activists have been saying that up to eight hundred thousand people have died since the beginning of the uprising last march while you and i and damascus based you human. rights groups estimate it's around the ten thousand people but still a lot of people

witnesses who can clearly confirm that those people who have been killed they were supporters of bashar al assad they were a white and so it doesn't make sense to kill the own people of the government so it's quite obvious that for the whole a massacre there rebels who are responsible german who just a few days ago interviewed bashar al assad he described this strategy as mass marketing which means that the rebels on purpose kill as many people as possible in order to incite worldwide public opinion and to promote the. invasion from abroad into syria in order to oust bashar assad if what you're saying is true they're going to why is this not being reported more widely in western mainstream media. well at the beginning it was quite clear that the government was responsible for killing peaceful protests that in the meantime the situation is calm change completely there are still peaceful protests but there's an increasing number not only of. army people but also of jihad of islamic scientists or of the only purpose to fight. government and as far as western media are concerned well they f

. >> you in on what kofi annan is with president bashar al-assad. we will stick with activist rafif jouejati. the justice department goes to blocks the texas' voter id law. >> according to the state of texas' own analysis, anywhere from 600,000 to nearly 800,000 registered voters did not have the required id and those were disproportionately hispanic. >> we will speak with nation reporter ari berman about the texas' voter id law and such laws around the country, and with the naacp attorney robert havingor the group as havinis its annual meeting in houston. a >> there should be no sympathy for goldman sachs. we should be doing everything to try to bring this matter forward. >> what is the matter? oakland city council votes to end its contract with goldman sachs that locked into a financial deal that cost the city millions. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a record-setting heat wave in the eastern u.s. is starting to ease after two weeks of scorching temperatures. th

true or false is a bashar al assad ready to step down as president of syria i'm sean thomas in moscow and coming up we sort out all of the details. police greet angry crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets on the streets of spain as the public rages against the latest wave of a stir he imposed on the country in return for a bank rescue by the e.u. . live from our new center here in the russian capital this is r.t. with you twenty four hours a day all members of the u.n. security council a vote in favor of a resolution extending the observer mission to syria the mandates been given the final thirty days but could be renewed if certain conditions are met. has the latest from new york. brush ambassadors of the united nations vitaly churkin says he's a very pleased with the way the vote out friday with his security council unanimously approving a u.k. draft resolution that extends the u.n. supervision mission in syria for a final thirty days investor churkin said this is what russia was hoping for from the very beginning and the vote that took place on thursday of course put a lot of con

damascus on saturday's meeting in geneva president bashar assad has said that syria is now ready and will welcome any solution to the ongoing crisis here in the country if only. it guarantees the country's sovereignty commenting on the geneva peace initiative to create an interim government uniting the opposition and current regime the syrian leader has also started his satisfied that the document signed by among others five permanent members of the of the u.n. security council is stressing that it's up to the syrian people to decide the country's future president bashar assad has also sad that he is ready to leave for his presidency even on me it how and violence here in the country and if people syrian people vote for that the fate of this syrian leader has been bone of contention for the participants of the geneva meeting even before then we take some nations led by us have been insisting that assad should go now while others mostly of russia have been saying that it's only up to syrian people and it can only be decided by syrian people whether assad leaves or states. three days a

could bashar al assad be next in line?about it with fran townsend, a former homeland security adviser to president george w. bush. if this report is true, that he has now defected, a huge guy in syria and the syrian military, fran, this would be huge. >> absolutely, wolf. not only is he in the republican guard, which is a very close -- it's meant to protect assad and the senior members of the regime. it's meant to sort of enforce regime stability, but this is a close personal friend of bashar al assad's and that makes the defection all the more damaging. let's remember his father was the minister of defense for decades when bashar al assad's father was ruling the country. and so this is really a blow, not only sort of in fact but sort of to the psyche of the military. we understand him to have been very well respected and well regard eed by his troops. look, this isn't the first. remember we had the jet pilot who defected with his plane to jordan recently. but this is certainly the closest senior military person that we're

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to bashar al assad, i say you don't know history. two wills cannot be defeated. the will of god and the will of the people. so learn from history. have mercy on the poor people of syria and history will curse you for the crimes you committed in syria. >> and more now on those two americans waiting for their freedom in egypt. pastor michelle alie was abducted on friday in the sinai province. an egyptian official said they're unharm and well fed and randi kaye spoke with family members this morning. >> we know as much as we know in the news in terms of they're doing a lot of negotiating. they're trying to -- they're trying the best that they can. we're waiting. >> how concerned are you about your father's health? >> we are concerned but we're christians and we believe in god. we're in good faith. we're resolved in our faith. we're -- we know that god is going to see him out of this situation. but at the same time, we're human. and we just want to see our father get home. we want to see the sister, the member get home also. we want to see the tour guide too because

true or false is a bashar al assad ready to step down as president of syria and john thomas in moscow and coming up we sort out all of the details. police greed angry crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets in the streets of spain as the public rages against the latest wave of austerity imposed on the country in return for a bank rescue by the e.u. . it's a pleasure to have you with us here on our to today. live in moscow the u.n. observer mission to syria expires later on friday but the security council still split over a resolution to extend it another vote is expected any moment now after russia and china yesterday vetoed a western backed draft which they considered simply put is unacceptable and with more from new york. now joins us live here on the program good to see you so so what's russia claiming is at stake if indeed the observer mission is not extended today. well of russia and i have to say add to that the secretary general of the un and joint special envoy kofi annan all say that there's a lot at stake if this mandate is not extended because we have to remember these as t

syrian capital reportedly killed three top government officials including the syrian president's bashar al-assad's brother-in-law. it happened not capital city of damascus not far from the presidential palace, syrians say the television reported it was suicide terror attack but the rebels say they planted that bomb and they spent a month planning this particular assault. of course, restrictions on independent news reports in syria make it very difficult for us to confirm anything. state run television has identified two of the officials killed. the defense minister was a former general and is the most senior government casualty since the syrian uprising began. and the attack killed the deputy defense minister. he was one of the most feared figures inside's president assad inner circle and married to president assad's older sister. we have amateur video claiming it shows syrian people celebrated deadly attack on the government. the activists say the syrian uprising has killed 17,000 people since last march. now, the white house is putting new pressure on nearly every member of the in pla

current regime and the opposition any time soon i'm sure that's not surprising because president bashar assad has recently said that he is ready to talk to these people while the syrian opposition has made it has made it clear big can be no solution and no dollar is possible until saddam leaves we have been hearing recently very hostage months from president bashar al assad on foreign nations involvement in this crisis in syria he has sat the u.s. is trying to destabilize the situation here in the country by providing its political support for armed gangs and terrorists operating here in syria here is also said that saudi arabia and carter are also involved in this crisis by. providing financial support to the rebels and by arming and he has also mentioned turkey that he is providing logistical support for the rebels and this crisis has been raging in syria for sixteen months already and many ask the question why it takes so long and some analysts say that the most complicated thing is that while it's clear from one side there is still a syrian regime of bashar assad and his opponents s

sergey lavrov here in moscow and at that time they said they were not willing to deal with president bashar al assad since then they have launched what they are calling operation the damascus of volcano and earthquakes of syria the stated goal of that operation is to bring in syria and i'm quoting here bring it syria into a state of complete and total civil disobedience now of course this puts kofi annan in a very difficult situation he is charged with finding a peaceful solution to the conflict there on the ground in syria now in doing this he must meet with all sides that means the west china russia and of course the opposition and president bashar al assad russia says that the west is not living up to the geneva agreement that was agreed on just a short time ago and in fact they're using this as an opportunity to impose sanctions and possibly even military intervention of a foreign kind this is something that russia does not absolutely does not want russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov said the west is trying to blackmail russia to swing over to their side also lavrov says that hillar

opposition alliance are here in moscow and have reiterated their main aim is to oust current leader bashar al assad government reports. no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which was convened here on the eve of talks between the head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on wednesday now for with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteen months all sides do agree on the need for some sort of a transitional government in syria some sort of a transition in that country the divisions however are over what role if any president bashar al assad should play in this transition now for the s.n.c. again this is the main opposition group for syria there negotiating position there precondition is that assad is removed from power before any negotiations over a new government take place this kind of a demand a precondition for the removal of the syrian president for him from office goes against what was set out in the geneva talks last month which where world powers effecti

these words were taken out of context and it says the meaning of the ambassador's words were that bashar al assad can stay in power and he could go but this is a decision they can be made not by the u.n. security council not by anyone else but only by the president himself and by the syrian people certainly there's always rumors in fact it's hard to believe anything that comes out of syria unless you can that he personally see it for yourself because there's lots of different sources of information and misinformation as a word we've heard that bashar al assad has fled to damascus we've also heard that assad has been injured and that just immediately after those reports came out there were pictures of assad perfectly fine having not been injured also reports of assad's wife coming here to moscow and about those rumors the foreign ministry here in russia has said on the general idea of rumors that the world is usually awash with rumors these rumors it tended to game some information around and spread very fast i would not like to comment on any rumors today i think that it is a very good h

means that they they are very determined in large scale operation against the regime of president bashar al assad but that doesn't necessarily mean that this keeping this control because everything changes very fast we have to be very careful with information and even with picture is we see because since the beginning of this our prize in it's also been media war and just recently we've been hearing from opposition that they've managed to take control over the airport just yesterday we were at the airport here in damascus that it's functioning normally been here on the ground for almost fifty days already and i have to say what we've been able to see in the last five days has been the most dramatic moment for the syrian capital of the clashes between the army and the rubbles have been taken place in at least five districts over damascus and it's been extremely difficult to get in side these districts but on thursday we finally managed to do that and what we saw really devastating destroyed streets abandoned houses no people of variously and many many traces of war and a very fierce clash

at its core is president bashar al-assad and his brother, a military commander. the president's sister, her husband was killed today. assef shawkat has been called the power behind the scenes and the architect behind much of the crackdown of the syrian uprising. his death is a major blow to the inner circle. the government has vowed to defeat the rebels. >> this is a decisive battle, this is a decisive battle not only in damascus but in syria as a whole. they are wrong to underestimate us. >> these street fighting pictures and damascus were not filled by rebels, they are from state television. a tacit admission by the regime of house serious situation has become. -- of how serious the situation has become. the violence has crept in from outlying districts like these. last night, the barracks of the presidential palace were set ablaze. this morning's blast was a place presume to be a secure stronghold. >> this sent a message to the regime that the hands of the syrian people can reach any one side of damascus and even bashar al-assad. he is not safe anymore. >> but

an asian free of bashar al-assad is a nation -- a nation free of bashar al-assad is a nation we can do business with. >> the regime says they have chemical weapons and they are. -- and they are prepared to use them against outside aggressors. do you believe them? >> i do not believe there -- i do not believe a word the regime says. they are demonstrating the in the main tactics they are using now. people are asking their government in israel for gas masks now. he should understand that one use of any type of poison gas would be the end of the line for him. >> people keep saying, it is the end of the line. he is continuing to do exactly what he wants. he clearly does not care what you or anybody else in the international community says. >> he has disregarded the international community and he has been enabled by the iranians, the russians, and the chinese. we have to continue to put pressure on the chinese and the russians. we have to bring together coalitions outside the un and within the region to bring to bear pressure on the regime and support for the resistance. the resistance has

while you're on an arab league special envoy to syria has described his meeting with president bashar al assad here in damascus on monday as constructive kofi annan has sat that they've agreed discussed and agreed on approach and common approach on how to end violence here in syria he has said that if you can only be done and should be done through dialogue and also stress that. all the sides been involved in these conflict should do they have passed to try to implement the six point peace plan brokered by you and april in the back to where they've been doing it before actually indeed the peace plan six point plan hasn't been successful so far we've been only seen in weakness in this collation of the violence here in syria immediately after it was announced so it's absolutely clear that something should be changed in the way to implement that and this is exactly what kofi annan has been stressing the point there is also a very interesting detail while talking about this common approach kofi annan has sat that. we will share it with the armed opposition but after that immediately he ha

government in syria the opposition convenes here in moscow to try to push for the removal of presence bashar al assad. also this hour emergency aid sent to russia's flood ravaged southern region of krasnodar wherever one hundred sixty people were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes. and the former boss of barclays bank gives up a twenty million pound bonus after resigning but is still in line for a tidy payoff. that fuel claims the big bang because a rewarded stiff allegedly wrongdoing at the parliamentary grilling failed to back any freight. on screen online international news and comment live from our new center here in moscow this is good to have you with us russia says it's ready to host another meeting of world powers over the continuing violence in syria members of the main syrian opposition alliance are here in moscow and have reiterated their main aim is to oust the current leader bashar al assad. reports. no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of talk

if russia could replace bashar al-assad tomorrow, with bashar al-assad, the clone, they would do it.t is not a matter of individuals, it is a question of the regime itself. and, as long as the united states doesn't face up to that reality, you could have negotiation after negotiation and nothing will change. >> eric: ambassador, finally your prediction, stalemate, continues as-is? >> as far that's eyes can see, the civilian deaths continue and hostilities continue and the stand-off continues. >> eric: ambassador john bolton, always terrific to have your in sight every sunday morning, thanks for your in sight. as always. >> the ballot counting underway in la in libya after the first free election and we expect results by tuesday and more than 1.5 libyans took part in the vote and the leaders will make up a 200 seat parliament, and it is seen as a key milestone after the end of a bloody civil war that ousted dictator muammar al-gadhafi. >> dave: coal miners are underground and four were pulled to the surface yesterday and they spent three days in a flooded pit in a mine in china. and c

opposition and russia's top diplomat in moscow the rebels hope to persuade russia help the mouse president bashar asad and bosco once a year whether rebel forces are committed to a peaceful solution. some of britain's elderly could soon be abandoned as a government considers taking away free medicine and transport it's a sad those already struggling with the nation's double dip recession. as greek finances deteriorate its nationalists reaping the benefits of chaos with race hate crimes on the rise human rights watch has urged athens to take urgent action. but as we talk to one of syria's opposition leaders for his vision on how to end the bloodshed in the country in our special interview that's next. might have a because if you're joining us now we have michelle and the head of the syrian democratic forum delegation and what is the outcome of your talks with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov out of. the immediate come of the talks was pre-determined by the fact that you have on the one hand a delegation from a country where a full blown war is raging and a great power on the other you can ha

>> what i've been saying is the issue is not bashar.ve tomorrow and the regime stays, then what have we achieved? what we've been trying to say is we need to find a formula of a transition where the regime feels that it has a stake in the future with alawe feels they have a future in syria that, you know, they have a life to live. and the only way we can do that is a political transition. part of the problem is as we as part of the international community try and create an international political option, we've seen over the past several weeks an international sort of a tension on the ground from the different sects that is creating violence to a level that maybe a political solution may no longer be an option. >> you agree though that this is for all practical purposes now a civil war in syria? >> well, i think as we continue to pursue the political option, the realities on the ground may have overtaken us. therefore i think the clock is ticking. and have we as you've just alluded to reached the point where that a political option is to

news agencies a say that the man who carried out the said tag has been one of president bashar assad's gods of course given how massive the last will so we can understand that there's been many civilians killed and many many damages caused by these blast the buildings and cars around the syrian capital has been going through a really tough times in the last seventy two dollars in the last full day as we. go in through was free syrian army and opposition and old forces trying to green assad's regime down as as dogged. bino battle and the decisive battle for damascus we've been hearing shootings in very different parts of the capital we've been seeing black smoke drifting over the city. and we've also been hearing helicopter is not only flying over. the oldest continuously inhabited capitals in the war but also firing so it's been a very dramatic picture actually here on the ground and people here those who we've been able to speak to. say they are surprised actually the couldn't imagine this to happen all just they didn't want to believe this may happen in their home. when chris says it

well no dialogue with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of topps between the. head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on an un tuesday answer when say now for it with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteen months all sides do agree on the need for some sort of a transitional government in syria some sort of a transition in that country the divisions however are over what role if any president bashar al assad should play in this transition now for the s.n.c. again this is the main opposition group for syria there negotiating position there precondition is that assad is removed from power before any negotiations over a new government take place in fact that statement was reiterated today when the s.n.c. delegate told reporters quote there could be no dialogue with the ruling regime there can only be talks on how to switch to a quote new political system effectively they want action before any sort of talks take place so you see as you say the