until now, there is little connection between the former soldiers of the free syrian army and the academic and intellectuals of the syrian national council, the main opposition group, but now their leaders have met in southern turkey and agreed to work together. the free syrian army said they recognized their goal and are non-violent program. agrees that its main job is to protect civilians and it will resist provocations from be a side regime and the two groups will form a committee to work together to form their campaign. all of this is important under the umbrella of the civilian council. can it stop the slide towards civil war? the problem as many of those who have taken up arms are only loosely under the command of the free syrian army. they may not want to stop ambushing government forces. at anchor in the contested communities of syria over the death of unarmed protesters will make it hard for the armed men to restrain themselves, and that death paul -- that death toll is causing alarm. >> i had said this and is there were more defectors threatening to take up arms, i have said this

>> at this point we are asking the free syrian army to stick to protecting civilians whenever there are out. there are some expectations that the free syrian army would stick to protecting those protesters. we don't want them to take an aggressive route. >> syria has been suspended from the arab league. now this vote in the united nations human rights council. what more needs to be done diplomatically to make sure the bloodshed ends? >> you know, i think there is going to be a long road ahead of us. if you think about it, the arab league second, and up had the votes in the the general assembly last week. it was positive. we had the russia and chinese governments abstain. but with the vote that happened today with the u.n. human rights council, we have russia and china yet again coming and voting against it so i think there is still a battle that's taking place at the u.n. level. we need to win the russians and chinese on our side to really completely put the noose around the current syrian regime. >> ok. so let's imagine if it's at all possible that russia and china or not side and the

a man showed us assign "the free syrian army represents and protects me," it said. in a smoky apartment we found young activists debating late into the night about the role of the free syrian army. >> reporter: back at the safe house, when asked what they were fighting for, one soldier pulled out a photograph of his son. he told us he's willing to sacrifice himself so that the next generation of syrians can be free. >> pelley: clarissa ward joins us now. clarissa, i wonder, since the assad government has such tight control over most of the country, how are those men getting those weapons we see? >> reporter: well, the men i was with say they actually brought their weapons with them when they defected and they try to confiscate anything they can when they're launching those raids on the syrian army. but they did acknowledge that there is a shortage of weapons and we've seen one way they've tried to deal with that situation is by having weapons smuggled in from neighboring countries like turkey and lebanon. >> pelley: clarissa, thanks very much. for his part, president

of the free syrian syrian army has been a big crux of argument on both sides over who these people are where they're from what they're doing how they do supporting them but a big issue isn't it. absolutely because. it's super wrong strategy from the part of the syrian opposition there's the syrian national council with the diplomatic arm they are meeting in istanbul i mean paris their leader is a paris exile by whom and he's been talking basically to international media you know to american interlocutors this is the brave face diplomatic phase of the opposition and then that's the free. syrian army who are doing the actual fighting my sources in the home still are furious even in homes they come in google they have like a ragtag band speakeasy they cannot fight the syrian army they cannot fight tranks so the tanks have to be investigated of course the police the crackdown by this year to go for sixteen we have and it has to be investigated but these armed gangs have to be best it as well as the free syrian army and it's basically defectors but there are a lot of mercenaries that pepe h

they calm themself the free syrian army. e of the men managed to take a rifle with a precision scope with him when he defected. but most of the fighters from the free syrian army are ill-equipped short on guns and ammunition and with no heavy weapons. still, they have managed to kick assad forces out of the neighborhood and holded area. it's possibly the first place in syria beyond government control. at points like this mark the front line. >> translator: assad's troops are about 25 to 30 meters away from us with soldiers and tanks. we're here to prevent them from passing and killing young and old. >> the man introduced me to one of their leaders. abdul is one of the few willing to be identified. he was a lieutenant in assad's army before defecting. his uncle is a former syrian defense minister. >> translator: we got orders notice army that went against my oath as a soldier. i had sworn to protect civilians. but when i saw what the government forces were doing to the people, i defected on june 2nd. >> people like abdul are h

free syrian army yesterday three days ago they said they had fifteen thousand soldiers not they have twenty five dollars in two days you know. they are working hand in hand we could use exile groups and they are turning into a huge militia it reminds me of iraq in two thousand and three two thousand and four so this militia now it's already falls into. three civil war in all sport there's with the help of nato this command center in the province in southern turkey and syria jordanian border so what do you want and what nato wants is simmering civil war let's put it this way as a friend you for something much tougher probably after the american election when the. ok you're probably asking for a lot of time i'm going to ask you know i'm told no we can't result could have been a program from south. florida coming up here on r.t. tonight truth and consequence for the wiki leaks. he has impacted governments around the world is lifted the veil of the us empire to show us what we really are . an american soldier faces his first pretrial hearing for leaking a treasure trove of u.s. military

until now, there has been little connection between the former soldiers of the free syrian army and the academic uofficials of the syrian opposition group. now they have met and turkey and agreed to work together. the freak army recognizing the council's role in the revolution and their non pilot program. they believe that their main job is to protect civilians and will resist provocation by the assad regime. they have formed a committee to coordinate their campaign. all of this is important to bring the armed wing of the opposition under the umbrella of the civilian council. can the stop the slide towards civil war? the problem is that many of those that have taken up arms are only loosely under the command of the free syrian army. they might not want to stop ambushing government forces. anchor in the syrian communities of the death the protesters would make it hard for the armed men to restrain themselves and the death toll is causing growing alarm. >> as soon as there was more and more defectors looking to take up arms, i have said this in august before the security council, that the

these men say they're allfectors and they call themselves the free syrian army. e of the men managed to take rifle with a position scope with him when he defected. but most of the fighters from the free syrian army are ill equipped and short on gun and ammunition and with no heavy weapons. still, they have managed to kick outside forces outside and hold that area. it's possibly the first place in syria beyond government control. checkpoints like this mark the frontline. "assad's troops are 25 to 30 meters away from us with soldiers and tanks." we are here to prevent them from killing young and old. >> reporter: the men introduced me to one of their leaders. one of the few willing to be identified. he was a lieutenant in the army before defected. his uncle is a former syrian defense minister. "we got orders in army that went against my oath as a soldier. when i saw what the government forces were doing to the people, i defected on june 2nd." >> reporter: people like him are heroes for the people. he was cheered at an anti-government demonstration. but he is surroun

arab league really trying to say to the opposition forces and some of them are even aiding the free syrian army which is engaging in military operations and sabotage operations against this syrian security forces so at this point in time you want to have russia china and some emerging power countries were really calling for some sort of dialogue and i hope that you know in the coming months that kind of stalemate with this i'm sure that russia and china we do not sanction any kind of from her intervention in syria in the foreseeable future or so i said because they feel that the syrian regime. solution is the best we can move forward even to what sides of the coin both sides of the parties enjoy substantial support and how legitimate claims bring forward and talk about use it in a more constructive framework of dialogue. well everything as we know their human rights committee of the u.n. is holding and nother crisis meeting on syria so what further steps in your opinion can we expect from the united nations. we know that it's really. a human rights body to isolate its body but in united nations

army and the academics and intellectuals of the syrian national council. now, their leaders have met in southern turkey and agreed to work together. the free syrian army says they recognize the council's leading role in the revolution and it's essentially non-violent program put it agrees that their main job is to protect civilians and who will resist provocation by the assad regime. they will start to coordinate their campaign. all of this is important because it brings the armed wing of the opposition under the umbrella of the civilian council. can it stop the slide towards civil war? the problem is that many of those who have taken up arms are only loosely under the command of the army. they may not want to stop ambushing government forces. anchor in the contested communities over the death of an unarmed protesters would make it hard for the armed men to restrain themselves and the death toll is causing growing alarm. -- anger in the contested committees of the death of on armed protesters would make it hard. >> i said this in august before the security council, there is going to be a civil war. at the moment, that is how i'm characteri

today the free syrian army denied any connection to the bombing. the regime has called syria's pro-democracy activists terrorists and thugs, but in a damascus apartment, we met young men and women killed by caffeine and cigarettes and a thirst for freedom. >> i dream about a country where i can stand up and say my opinion. that's the main thing. >> reporter: it may sound simple but many have paid a high price for speaking out against the regime. the u.n. estimates that at least 5,000 people have been killed during the nine-month crackdown and many more have been wounded. this man told us he was shot four times by security forces at a protest he attended in july. he has suffered from serious medical problems ever since. his mother went. "i pray to god to relieve us of the regime" she said. driving around the capital, the regime still looms large. the driver regularly told me to put the camera down, warning of the all-seeing eye of pro-government militants who wear no uniform known as the shabiha. but just outside damascus the unrest is spreading. we

who are kind of talking to the syrian army and some of convenience in many cases how do you get them to put down their weapons that and how do you get. the pond the free syrian army to put down their weapons that may. well russia has been pushing the steering government and opposition for donald saying that that seemed to have what ten yemen. western states say that this mandate i think go far enough that it doesn't really reflect the gravity of human rights abuses in syria so is there a middle right to be found here where the west and the government i think would have to accept that the bombing is two way. so far has been the bonds are being won one way. or the forces the rect towards an arms with him because it was simply going to reference to the bonzo bomb gangs non-fact that bonnets began almost from the beginning like this movement and the gangs in the camps hiding behind the people but generally pleased with them because in a lot of damage more recently it was admitted by the activist in fact there was anonymous but it will begin by pictures and i'd be committed again. no i think. this. is not just the syrian. issue orders for the army to progr

to mediate a peaceful solution for months there's been a little less out of the violence the free syrian army claims to have moved in twenty five thousand troops fighting to bring down president assad but western states blamed the violence on president assad's regime and remain heated on the role of armed gangs but asia times correspondent at the ask about it says there's plenty of evidence that is actually happening and weapons are coming from forward. what's interesting is what the u.s. and nato countries go sit there and accept an acceptable is that the syrian government cannot fight an armed insurgency in their own territory the free syrian army they're getting weapons smuggled from the middle east to the borders in turkey keep it in jordan as well this has been already proved then about the u.n. figures about a lot of people are seriously questioned now if it be lies numbers if you say that five thousand people were kewl over these past few months it makes like almost no one hundred that the effect so there is the fog of prewar is already there so the russian move is an intelligent move

there is no doubt the free syrian army carried out attacks. ibly substantial if there are any links to any of the pro democracy or free syrian army activists that have been operating inside. it is still extremely premature for their part. the free syrian army would deny any activity linked to that attack, they say they act to protect innocent lives from being killed. >> you're in tahrir square where over the early part of this year there is so much protest and it ended up overthrowing the egyptian government, but now it seems there is a protest against the current power, the military, for the crackdown and often brutal on protesters. talk about that and what we're seeing in tahrir square right now. >> absolutely. you can probably see a little off to my shoulder here. there are about 5,000 people that have been here for the better part of the day. they have named today's protest the restoration of honor. many of the prodemocracy activists over the past week saw the crackdown, the brutal crackdown against protesters and particularly some of those

the two thousand state security officers were killed in recent clashes by the fact that the free syrian army claims now more than twenty five thousand troops fighting to bring down president a sad western state still don't acknowledge that and the regime protestors are armed with a few times correspondents probably ask about tell me this plenty of evidence that that is actually happening and that the weapons are coming from abroad. what seeds are seeing is what the u.s. and nato countries consider and accept an acceptable is that the syrian government cannot fight an armed insurgency in their own territory the free syrian army they are getting weapons smuggled from the middle east to the borders in turkey any in jordan as well this has been already proved then about the u.n. figures a lot of people are seriously question now if it be lies numbers if she's saying that five thousand people were killed over these past few months it makes like almost no one hundred that the effect so there is the fog of three war is already there so the russian move is an intelligent move because it's a preempti

today the free syrian army denied any connection to the bombing. the regime has called syria's pro-democracy activists terrorists and thugs, but in a damascus apartment, we met young men and women killed by caffeine and cigarettes and a thirst for freedom. >> i dream about a country where i can stand up and say my opinion. that's the main thing. >> reporter: it may sound simple but many have paid a high price for speaking out against the regime. the u.n. estimates that at least 5,000 people have been killed during the nine-month crackdown and many more have been wounded. this man told us he was shot four times by security forces at a protest he attended in july. he has suffered from serious medical problems ever since. his mother went. "i pray to god to relieve us of the regime" she said. driving around the capital, the regime still looms large. the driver regularly told me to put the camera down, warning of the all-seeing eye of pro-government militants who wear no uniform known as the shabiha. but just outside damascus the unrest is spreading. we

they call themselves the free syrian army. anaged to take a rifle with a precision scope with him when he defected. most of the fighters from the free syrian army are ill-equipped, short on guns on ammunition with no heavy weapons. still, they kicked forces out and hold them. it's possibly the first place in syria beyond government control. checkpoints like this mark the frontline. >> reporter: the troops are 25 to 30 meters away from us with soldiers in tanks. we are here to prevent them from passing and killing young and old. >> reporter: the man introduced me to one of their leaders. this is one of the few willing to be identified. he was a lieutenant in the army. his uncle is a former syrian defense minister. >> translator: we got orders in the army that went against my oath as a soldier. i had sworn to protect civilians. when i saw what they were doing to people, i defected on june 2nd. >> reporter: he was cheered at an anti-government demonstration. this area is surrounded by the syrian military and shelled by artillery.

spanish reporter was first in libya recognize them here in inside at the top of beasts a so-called free syrian army but not syria but you know in steam libya for supporting the street it was only in syria and the car because there was. an old contentious between syria and. it was this country was created artificially very late so you don't have such a thing in syria and so you're the only way to divide the people is to use the contrition rule so we try to do that now. below it's. so nice and of course more so to. christian jews and so on but to have a main fight they want to create peace between and i would send signals last competition a war in the syria. hundred sixty years ago so it's difficult to prevent how do you see the situation progressing now first. i think that all b. reaction to destabilize the big. country are not working we see a lot of problems a lot of people killed but this is not the civil war great way to organize it they want to enter we for in troops inside like be doing lead or using proxy from the gulf council i think they will. very probably because based country israel will

you have the free syrian army and refugees in the south. have more and more opposition members heading to istanbul. it's the safest city for them that keeps them close to syria. with this meeting in geneva, with the u.s. secretary of state it's only the second one she's had with the opposition. it's not exactly recognition but it is getting very close. >> brown: deborah amos of npr speaking to us from beirut. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we'll be back shortly with the discovery of a planet that just might be like earth. but first, this is pledge week on pbs. this break allows your public >> woodruff: finally tonight, scientists on the hunt for an earth like planet. newshour correspondent spencer michels has the story. >> reporter: more than 20 years ago, space scientist william borucki dreamed up a plan to explore our galaxy to find the extent of life, if there is any beyond the earth. it was a daunting and expensive challenge. this week and $600 million later at a conference of his peers in mountain view, california, borucki

. >> the armed resistance calls itself the free syrian army. it is said to b strong and is largely made up of army deserters. its commander coordinates operations from his base in a turkish refugee camp. there are reports that some weapons are being smuggled in from turkey. the turkish government condemns the armed insurgency while also being the most outspoken international voice against assad. the policy is viewed with some unease. >> the policy is e enoug to make the change happened. it will take time. i think the outside forces will continue to assist, but will never get involved. that is much too complicated. >> the syrian exiles were also so -- enjoying much support. turks joined them in istanbul, protesting the killing across the border. a doctor fled from oppression in his native syria years ago. he is actively involved in the oppositionyrian national council based in istanbul. >> you cannot transfer the turkish state and society to syria. it is a democratic moslem country and that makes it a model for syrian democrats like myself. >> s

the transitional council and the syrian -- the free syrian army have joined forces. the president of france has said that he and the german chancellor, angela merkel, will seek a new european union treaty to impose greater financial discipline. he said that the debt crisis revealed major weaknesses in the european union and that it needed to be rebuilt. there is new evidence that the crisis in the eurozone stretches far beyond europe possible orders. china has seen its manufacturing output shrank partly because european nations are not importing some many chinese goods. >> shanghai, china, the world's second-biggest economy. still growing fast while western economies stagnate. the eurozone is floundering under its debt and they are not buying as much chinese staff. all of those troubles some western debts, someone say that china is partly to blame. look at the extraordinary wealth that the chinese economic miracle has generated. the way that china has exported some much more than they import and they produce so much more than they consume. that is the global economy

free. syrian army but not syrian. can you wait wait wait this is our disastrous chain reaction. suddenly there was there was panic i was outside of the car about to film and stand up. and the police and the emergency workers suddenly just like the sounds and it was all in jack things but i could understand there was the you can see the fear and panic and also they were shouting tsunami literally yelling in my face to get back into the car our team of international correspondents are barely looked back at the risk see how to take while reporting from japan for us were placed ravaged of course the time by the war power of nature. pakistan facing a crisis in its relations with the u.s. appears to be seeking more support now from another powerful ally china ties with america have been all but severed indeed following last month's deadly drone attack by the us military and this year's raid to kill osama bin laden without islam about its knowledge of the pakistani president is now firming up the country's friendship with beijing holding talks with chinese officials last week dose of c

the form of the syrian national council, is still trying to figure out how it relates to the free syrian army and to syrian army defectors. i do not think we want to jump ahead of that. i think we need to see how things play out with the ceiling national council and its own relationship building and its -- and in relation to the ongoing arab initiative. >> is the army anything more than a name? but their actual units? -- are there actual units? >> it is difficult for us to get a good handle on this. it does appear that several thousand syrian soldiers have voted with their feet. they have decided that they no longer want to be put in a position of having to support criminal activity against their own citizens. it does not appear that the free syrian army is the kind of organization on which one would do a formal order of battle. in terms of the italians, brigades, and so forth. -- in terms of battalions, brigades, and so forth. >> thank you, i yield back. the gentleman from new york is to recognize. >> thank you. to follow up, the ceiling and rebels do not appear to control -- the syrian rebe