the librarian of basra is a true story of a woman who was the chief librarian of basra's library. she smuggled 70% of the books out of the library when saddam's government took over the building. >> there you go. >> that's a bad book because the title is so literal. the lady who did something back in the 80s. >> it is for second graders, jim. >> that's true. >> wasn't the cover like showing very sophisticated jets flying over and dropping bombs? >> but they were saddam's jets. >> i guess it was the british and the u.s. is never mentioned in the book. it is the british who wrent to basra -- who went to basra and the library mysteriously caught fire. >> you did a hell of a job. >> can we call them american haters? >> i don't think so. it was about an afghani grandmother who enrolls her into a secret school because the taliban won't let her go to school. >> we think that is a good book. we are talking about the other one which we realized we hadn't read which means the story was a waste of time. >> funny, nobody minds kids reading the bible where at the end it is the seven-headed ser

and the basra children's hospital, in iraq's south: 200% over budget, four years behind schedule and still incomplete. i'm joined now by the author of the report, the special inspector general for iraq reconstruction, stuart bowen. we thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me, judy. >> woodruff: so you were appointed to this position nine years ago. it was during the bush administration, the very beginning of all this. what was your mission? what did they-- what were you originally told you were supposed to do? >> to audit and inspect the programs and projects of coalition provisional authority and to provide advice and recommendations to the congress on iraq's reconstruction. >> woodruff: did you have any idea then of the magnitude of what you were going to be doing? >> well are the first sign of it was my first trip to iraq in february of 2004 when i was walking the halls of the republican palace behind two people and one turned to the other and said, "we can't do that anymore. there's a new inspector general here." that sent me a signal that the challenges before me

it is 20 miles -- kilometers from boz rust city -- basra s city. a syrian army general has defected to the opposition. lufeo shows mohammed khalu defecting. activists say he was the army's logistics chief. fighters say they have captured arms stores after three days of fighting, but most of the ammunition had already been removed. in rainy and-made weapons were also reportedly found -- iranian-made weapons were also reportedly found. prime minister netanyahu appointed the new defense minister before the government takes charge on monday. netanyahu has finally been able to form a coalition government on friday, after weeks of deadlock. votes are being counted in zimbabwe after arendt -- a referendum which could weigh -- a referendum which could weigh -- could change the way the government is structured. the president and prime minister show united front. many zimbabwe ends don't fully understand -- zimbabweans don't fully understand what they are voting to change. >> there is a difference [inaudible] this is owned by the state. it has the headline,

this is from my travels in southern iraq just outside of basra. it's a description of these oil fields. red shadows rippled across the deserts. smoke them out from a sheet of flames dancing bright orange of the 12 outstretched jimmy. isn't like a chicken just from almost a hundred feet away. if i looked into the flames i could feel my skin burn. i stepped back, glad of the cool blue sky that allowed me to rest my eyes before he gazed back into the hypnotic fire. eventually i tore my days with the walk back with a foreman for south oil company who has worked in the oil fields for 27 years of his life. he was glad to keep his job when saddam hussein's government was ousted by the u.s. invasion in the early spring of 2003. since the invasion his salary had been raised about $200 a month, almost five times his day under the baathist regime. the 200-dollar paycheck from one of the highest that local workers can earn, was a product of a long strong union struggle to maintain iraqi jobs. they preferred to hire foreign workers despite the fact that the co

southern iraq killing up to ten people that oil rich city of basra is rarely a target of violence and is considered one of the safer places and they volatile country but time comes just days before the tenth anniversary of the u.s. led invasion and policy adviser fergus hodgson believes there are too many warring factions in iraq for it to see peace anytime soon. the problem is that prior to the invasion there really was a difficult situation already the no fly zones in force by the british u.s. and french military and the end of very difficult sanctions meant that iraq prior to the invasion was already in a very poor state and so it's hard to say it remains in a very difficult situation one interesting point to note though is that a recent gallup survey in iraq said that the people gave the message that basically they thought the place was small secure now when the u.s. forces were present in greater numbers people should know that there are still many u.s. contractors there so it's not as though there is zero presence of united states and many people still see that as a presence whi

news making headlines around the world today two car bomb attacks have hit the southern iraqi city of basra ten people have been reported killed and many more injured in the explosions all rich by answer is rarely a target of violence and is considered a safer part of the volatile state iraq is fast approaching the tenth anniversary of the u.s. led invasion. a french soldier has been killed in combat in northern mali five french service men have now lost their lives in the paris led military campaign against islamist insurgents in the west african state is now into its third month french president francois hollande said the campaign was fast approaching an end when joint forces took control of key cities at the beginning of february. so that brings up to date from the news team with more free in half an hour from now in the meantime coming away after the break an insight into the syrian conflict r.t. .

two car bomb attacks in iraq killing ten people in this oil rich city of basra is rarely a target of violence and is considered a safer part of the volatile state the bombing comes just days before the tenth anniversary of the u.s. led invasion let's talk more about this with policy adviser fergus hudson he's joining me right now from north carolina so where does iraq stand today ten years after it was invaded. it's a difficult question because the problem is that prior to the invasion it really was a difficult situation already the no fly zones in force by the british u.s. and french military and a very difficult sanctions meant that iraq prior to the invasion was already in a very poor state and so it's hard to say it remains in a very difficult situation one interesting point to note though is that a recent gallup survey in iraq said the people gave the message that basically i thought the place was small secure now when the u.s. forces were present in greater numbers so therefore could you not say that was the right thing is the country not better off now without him. that's a di

difficulties and now to some world news in brief two car bomb attacks have hit the southern iraqi city of basra after ten people have been reported killed and many more injured in the explosions oil rich browser is rarely a target of violence and is considered a safer part of the volatile state iraq is fast approaching the tenth anniversary of the u.s. led invasion. french soldiers being killed in combat in northern mali five french servicemen have now lost their lives in paris led military campaign against islamist insurgents in the west african state is now into its third month french president said the campaign was fast approaching an end when joint forces took control of key cities at the beginning of february. and the streets in cities across the world are swimming in. millions celebrate st patrick's day this year in honor of the celtic saint over forty international landmarks from the pyramid to the sydney opera house will be traditional and paddy's green marches and parades are held every year and most of the world's capitals and major cities including here in moscow. the men who fought

yesterday ten were killed another sixteen were wounded in a double car bombing in the southern city of basra another two dozen people were killed in a car bomb in baghdad on march fifteenth these two incidents are just the latest examples of violence and instability in the region for more on the true legacy that the us left in iraq i was joined earlier by a political analyst joe maccarone we began by talking about the military goals the u.s. entered with which were ousting saddam hussein and seizing the weapons of mass destruction one of those goals was completed and the other one didn't exist so i asked him if this was mission accomplished here's his take. in mission accomplished was that we had different missions i think after two thousand and three the mission failed but i think after a dozen six we had to shift our strategy where the coalition election with the republican party lost the election you had gifts coming up you had baker you had those the whole shift the surge but definitely we never found any weapons of mass destruction so the initial goal of the of the of the invasion did n

on the road to basra this morning.

on the road to basra this morning the u.s. army is beginning to withdraw from iraq. in december twentieth after nine years of occupation the last american troops a fine of leaving the country. every guard got in about it i doubt it ma'am i observe the iraqis anger towards the departing innovators who once dreamed of being liberators the departure resembles abandonment and escape despite the optimistic speeches.

yesterday ten were killed and another sixteen were wounded in a double car bombing in the southern city of basra another two dozen people that were killed that were killed by a car bombing in baghdad on march fifteenth only add to this these two incidents are just the latest examples of violence and instability in the region for more on the true legacy of the u.s. left in iraq i'm joined now by political analyst joe maccarone. so we've had very specific goals in mind when we entered the country we wanted to depose of saddam hussein get him out of power and we wanted to find locate and take control of the weapons of mass destruction will saddam hussein is dead and we know now that there are no weapons of mass destruction so technically we have control of all of them is this a mission accomplished in this case. i mean mission accomplished was we have the missions i think to do this through the mission food but i think after this goes and six we have the shift of strength that you were the coalition election the republicans both lost the election you had gets going to go up you had big you had thos

yesterday ten were killed and another sixty were wounded in a double car bombing in the southern city of basraanother two dozen people that were killed by the car bomb in baghdad on march fifteenth these are just two incidents that are just the latest examples of the violence and instability that still plagues the region for more on the true legacy that the u.s. has left in iraq i was joined earlier by political analyst joel macaroon he begun by commenting on whether or not we can consider it mission accomplished regarding the fact that we did in fact oust saddam hussein and see and there were no weapons of mass destruction here's what he had to say. in mission accomplished was we have different missions i think after two of the three the mission failed but i think after a dozen six we had a shift of strategy where were the coalition election the republican party lost the election you had guests coming up you had baker you had those this whole shift the surge but definitely we never found any weapons of mass destruction so the initial goal of the of the of the invasion that not the was not ful

the first two tomahawk missiles launched from basra back on march 20th, 2003.ight of shock and awe. since then. the world witnessed the fall and execution of saddam hussein. with thousands of military, and iraqui families losing loved ones in the war. along with trillions of dollars spent. all echoed in the >> today, many of those war veterans have come back to the u-s. only to find themselves struggling with civilian life. but there is hope. joining us this morning is a bay area marine. mike liguori. he's spent two tours in iraq and now helps veterans with their careers, and writes about veterans issues in his book, the sand box, stories of human spirit and war. welcome. the more you start to realize that the book unfolds. you start to realize that people are actually going to read your darkest secrets. overall it was apelike changing experience for me. it started when i was a sophomore in college. there was a summer where i got bored. i always want to read a book. this is after my service. i started writing. i had no idea what i was doing but then it all star

they include the librarian of basra which contains drawings of fighter planes dropping bombs on a palmmiddle eastern town and people wondering who will die. the lessons will be used in third through fifth grade. >>steve: wonder whose idea that is? >>ainsley: not mine. >>steve: 25 minutes before the top of the hour. we were talking about the bracket. he's our bracketeer, mr. kilmeade. >>brian: let's talk basketball. louisville scoring the top seed tournament last night. other top seeds: kansas in the south, gonzaga in the west and indiana in the east. kentucky failing to make the tournament. they are stunned. tempers flaring after denny hamlin hits his former teammate, spinning him around. begano racing over to hamlin. the two had to be pulled apart. then they went to a twitter war. they are really mad at each other and called each other out. and now the two bushes finishing the top five. coming up between 9 and noon between kilmeade and friends, the radio app and wherever you have our stations, bret baier, gordon chang and ed henry amongst the many guests. >>steve: let's tell you a lit

the president, basra al assad, has carried out this campaign of wanton violence against his own people these atrocities have gone on for far, far too long. 70,000 dead syrians. it's time that this awful dictator, tyrant step down and allows his people to pursue a peaceful transition to democracy which they crave. assad grows increasingly desperate as the rebels gain ground even though they have a full arsenal. the president should understand the world is watching his every action and will not tolerate his unforgivable slaughter of innocent citizens, including the potential future use of chemical weapons. president obama has made clear, and i support him 100%, the use of such weapons, chemical weapons, would constitute a red line for the united states and for the international community. rather than ton kill his own people, assad should end the bloodshed and relinquish power to syria's citizens. mr. president, as america closely observes unfolding events in syria and deals with varied threats around the world, it's crucial that president obama has a seasoned national security team in pl

and especially in places like fallujah and basra where the bigger battles took place.rth defects is now around 14%. so again it is -- think about that. think about that if, in california, one out of every ten -- one or more out of every ten births had birth defects and we're talking significant like babies born with multiple limbs and one eye. >> same thing in vietnam with agent orange. >> stephanie: 250,000 bullets per insurgent killed in afghanistan. no points for accuracy there. again, one of the -- you know, then you talk about all of the american soldiers disabled as well. it just goes on and on, right? >> right. and you know, we don't know what the effects of that are going to be on the soldiers when they come back and especially female soldiers when they give birth later on in their lives or when they get back or whenever. >> stephanie: apparently george w. bush a very good painter. >> his dog. >> yes. his dogs are magnificent. and i want one of his barneys hang up in my room. >> i've never quite seen a scottie with that kind of detail. rudeness, great stuff as

one of them is the librarian of basra.g us will die? i want your take on this. the school chancellor says this is stuff kids see anyway. he says, we want our children to be able to talk and read about complex things that impact on their real lives. television, the internet, our children see things now on a regular basis and as a school system, we have a responsibility to make sure that they have an opportunity to discuss these things, according to chancellor wallcot. >> i think that if you're talking about in junior high school or high school, they absolutely, you know, have the ability and they have seen things. but in a third grade or fourth grade or fifth grade, children are still under supervision of their parents. and they don't necessarily always have the opportunity to witness all these things on tv because their parents protect them. >> steve: absolutely. if you introduce scary things too early to a kid, they're going to be worried, is that going to happen to me? maureen, we thank you very much. >> you're very welc