can do what he wants. >> narrator: in the center of ahmad's village is the local office of the free syrian army. these men were all born in this valley, and like the majority of syrians are sunni muslims. they're determined to oust president bashar al-assad from power. >> (translated): we want a democratic system, with a government elected by everyone in syria. this would be better than the assad family. we are in the town of kansafra. this town is a stronghold of the free syrian army. it was liberated from assad's army more than three months ago. >> narrator: the army of the assad regime has been pushed back across the valley to the other side of t orontes river. ahmad's village is well within range of their artillery. shells and mortars are routinely fired into this village. >> (translated): god willing, bashar al-assad's army can't get in here. we run things here now. >> narrator: doctors and nurses are ordered to report immediately to the local hospital. ahmad is already there, using his phone to film casualties. >> (translated): i ran to the area to see who was injured, to see how i could

well let's just have a look at the this is the so-called free syrian army they've made it the various groups that make up the free syrian army have made it very clear that their ideology is islam is m they wish to replace the secular progressive states that is syria which should be a little and many of these groups are linked to al qaida for example the al nusra front so the fact that western governments led by and principally by the united states has been has been send in hundreds of millions of dollars to the so-called free syrian army. really you have to sort of think about it yourself is the money going to end up in the hands of terrorists yes it is without any doubt whatsoever and anyone possible on a civilian area anyone sends a suicide bomber to kill civilians to maim civilians that constitutes a terrorist that and his his or her act constitutes terrorism and the western governments need to condemn the attack today in damascus and condemn all subsequent terrorist attacks terrorism is terrorism is terrorism. you know international community lately has been focused on the allegat

london in july two thousand and five well let's just have a look at the this is the so-called free syrian army they've made it to the various groups that make of the free syrian army have made it very clear that their ideology is is the islam they wish to replace the secular progressive states that is syria which should we look for and many of these groups are linked to al qaida for example the al nusra front so the fact that western governments led by and principally by the united states has been has been sent in hundreds of millions of dollars so the so-called free syrian army. really you have to sort of think about it yourself is the money going to end up in the hands of terrorists yes it is without any doubt whatsoever western intentions in syria come up in today's cross talk to people a valid one hundred thirty g.m.t. is what's behind president obama's red line in the syrian conflict to talk about that and i asked could nato countries break the civil war deadlock. the thing. is. there appear to be more questions than answers as the boston bombing investigation continues with one suspect d

yeah this is a problem first of all if there were an imperative to support this so-called free syrian army there would be certain requirements like is there a free syrian army or is it to. fashion all and ok yeah and you know that this is a real problem if you decide to intervene in a conflict on one side you have to have some reasonable expectation of what's going to happen as opposed to virtually none which we have i mean the obama administration has even stated that you know knocking out the assad regime would create a power vacuum and even if we were supporting the free syrian army it would still descend into probably an archaic civil war that has the kind of on the order that we saw in iraq you know and in terms of a moral imperative this talk i think really needs to stop because if there were if america had a moral imperative to do something to stop human suffering and mass death then we shouldn't of gone into iraq and killed seven hundred thousand people when we shouldn't have been imposing sanctions on iraq and killed in about a million people during the one nine hundred ninety s.

fact that civilians have been killed as well demonstrates just as the heinous nature of the free syrian army that they're quite prepared to kill not only the syrian prime minister but also syrian civilians and this is something which is just completely ignored in the west and is no different so the terrorist bombings that occurred in london in july two thousand and five well let's just have a look at the fact is the so-called free syrian army they've made it the various groups that make up the free syrian army have made it very clear that their ideology is is the ism they wish to look place the secular progressive states that is syria which should be and many of these groups are linked to al qaida for example the al nusra front so the fact that western governments led by and principally by the united states has been has been sent in hundreds of millions of dollars so the so-called free syrian army really you have to sort of think about it yourself is the money going to end up in the hands of terrorists yes it is without any doubt whatsoever western intentions in syria came up in today's cros

yeah this is a problem first of all if there were an imperative to support this so-called free syrian army there would be certain requirements like is there a free syrian army or is it to. fashion all and. ok yeah and you know this is a real problem if you decide to intervene in a conflict on one side you have to have some reasonable expectation of what's going to happen as opposed to virtually none which we have i mean the obama administration has even stated that you know knocking out the assad regime would create a power vacuum and even if we were supporting the free syrian army it would still descend into probably an archaic civil war that has the kind of on the order that we saw in iraq you know and in terms of a moral imperative this talk i think really needs to stop because if there were if america had a moral imperative to do something to stop human suffering and mass death then we shouldn't of gone into iraq and killed seven hundred thousand people and we shouldn't have been imposing sanctions on iraq and killing about a million people during the one nine hundred ninety s. we shou

of who should lead the opposition came into sharp focus today with the joint command of the free syrian army putting out a statement, turning around and saying they do not believe that the man announced as the defect or -- the fact the prime minister for the syrian government should be in the position. you can sense there is not any unity, whether the fighting or political force. the fsa concern with them is they say he spent two decades in america and only just came back to the battle in later months. is they also say that he really a puppet of the muslim brotherhood and they say they don't want somebody who is being enforced on them to come in to say he is the one to lead. they say that should be up to the syrian people. >> thanks very much for bringing the thoughts on the latest developments we are seeing in syria. >> south korea has raised its military alert status with the north, reportedly getting ready to launch a mid range missile. some are calling it psychological warfare, but no one is taking any chances. japan deployed intercepted -- interceptor missiles. from the border between n

yeah this is a problem first of all if there were an imperative to support this so-called free syrian army there would be certain requirements like is there a free syrian army or is it too. and. ok yeah and you know that this is a real problem if you decide to intervene in a conflict on one side you have to have some reasonable expectation of what's going to happen as opposed to virtually none which we have i mean the obama administration has even stated that you know knocking out the assad regime would create a power vacuum and even if we were supporting the free syrian army would still descend into probably an archaic civil war that has the kind of on the order that we saw in iraq you know and in terms of a moral imperative this talk i think really needs to stop because if there were if america had a moral imperative to do something to stop human suffering and mass death then we shouldn't of gone into iraq and killed seven hundred thousand people when we shouldn't have been imposing sanctions on iraq and killing about a million people during the one nine hundred we shouldn't have you kno

and that of course sets up a very different dynamic internally than the case with the free syrian armyere you have allowites, sunnis, kurds, all fighting together with a joint command, with the idea they're setting up a syrian state without assad. rather than setting up ann a syrian islamist state. >> was there pressure in your meetings today, for the things to do more in terms of arming those rebel groups, whom we are dealing with, whom we have vetted? and is there also pressure for the u.s. to do more, given that there may be a crossing of this red line? you yourself mentioned that the brits, the french think that this has indeed happened, that the evidence is clear. how do we not do something, iran is watching, north korea is watching. >> right, right. and of course we all know that hezbollah is on the ground. the iranian intelligence is also on the ground. the kurds forces are doing part of the fighting, they're backing up assad and part of the problem is even when allowhite units want to defect, when you've got that cast of characters around you, it makes it very hard to do. we've

yeah this is a problem first of all if there were an imperative to support this so-called free syrian army there would be certain requirements like is there a free syrian army or is it too. old and. ok yeah and you know this is a real problem if you decide to intervene in a conflict on one side you have to have some reasonable expectation of what's going to happen as opposed to virtually none which we have i mean the obama administration has even stated that you know knocking out the assad regime would create a power vacuum and even if we were supporting the free syrian army would still descend into probably an archaic civil war that has the kind of on the order that we saw in iraq you know and in terms of a moral imperative this talk i think really needs to stop because if there were if america had a moral imperative to do something to stop human suffering and mass death then we shouldn't of gone into iraq and killed seven hundred thousand people when we shouldn't have been imposing sanctions on iraq and killed in about a million people during the one nine hundred ninety s. we shouldn't h

is clearly a target of russian officials russian aircraft they are a target by the so-called free syrian army the rebel forces which would see any russian equipment or any russian airplanes as a potential target in this geostrategic war so it is very conceivable that the rebel forces would attack a russian aircraft they would have to be do it before the russian is not a very big ally of the rebel forces as as this very obvious rebel forces biggest allies or western country are regional countries because russia supports a political solution in this era cross' they would be a target for rebel groups or for any russian civilians or any russian. specialists inside of syria including airplanes and it's all really early days or so we keep stressing this but then if any of this was to be proved to be proved that an airliner was in fact being targeted which we don't know what the ramifications potentially be. well the ramifications would be monumental first of all the western countries would have to reconsider any form of support for these rebel rebel groups or movements especially due to the presenc

. >> he was fighting with the free syrian army. we cannot show his face because he still has relatives in syria and he is worried about endangering them. demonstrationsin against the syrian government and they know about me. the regime is after me. i got a prison sentence for 8 years, but i've brought someone in the government. -- i bribed someone. them entered/4 of through an underground tunnel in egypt. they were afraid they would be turned away. he is an electrician, but he cannot find a job. out ofis running savings. he is applying for short-term unemployment assistance. we will give him a chance to work with the ministry of labour. cash for an apartment. >> many say they feel the accepted here. >> in jordan, you live near the border. but here, this is your own land. >> his house in damascus has been destroyed. he says there is nothing to go back for. >> a meeting greater thang-8 -- ministers isn talking about the crisis in syria. south korea says it wants a dialogue with the north over the reopening of the industrial area. by

he's l part of the fsa or the free syrian army. the rebels in the middle of the syrian battle right now. here he is, 8 years old carrying an ak-47 running around with other rebels. they call him their helper. you can see the neighborhood they fight in. the rebels sit him down for a quick interview. before that, he lights up a cigarette and describes a short story about himself and where his parents are. [ speaking foreign language ] >> since orphans now fight for the fsa, he tosses some sort of grenade over the wall. it's sad. let's think about is this some sort of propaganda being put out that you have to consider that as well. >> a situation like that, where do the orphans go? kids are so impressionable at this age. if they are taking him in and offering him praise and support and kindness, he's going to do anything to do that. >> how about shelter, food, water, conditions in syria right now are deplorable. they don't have electric or water. this kid is doing what he can to survive. >>> it's normal to expect the cat and dog to li

a lead fighter from hezbollah is reportedly leading the battle against a free syrian army.n the north, rebel fighters are battling for control of a military airport near aleppo. qatar and the u.s. say they will continue to cooperate closely to end the conflict in syria. the emir of qatar and during a meeting with president obama said that he hopes for a political solution. >> we also discussed the syrian issue, what's happening in syria is a major tragedy in the region and in the world. we hopes to find a solution to the bloodshed in syria and for the current government to leave power, to give room to others do give order. we hope any partner that succeed the current regime would be supportive of democracy and the political process. sayse associated press that syrian activists have hacked its twitter account. posted this tweet saying barack obama had been injured in an attack on the white house. stocks on wall street stumbled briefly in response to the phony post. the message was re tweeted hundreds of times. it's not the first time this year in electronic army has targeted

weapons to some, and most of the extreme elements, and those elements of the opposition, like the free syrian army they support a conclusive political outcome. they are starved for weapons. we need to start farming those elements that actually have a vision for syria that is consistent with ours, rather than sitting on our hands, so all of the weapons are going assad regime or elsewhere. that is the situation on the ground right now. >> thank you. as the conflict in syria widens, some are being drawn into the fight. the leader of the lebanon hezbollah group says that syria rebels will not be able to defeat the government military. our correspondent was looking at how they can avoid being dragged into the war next door. >> heading north through the lebanon valley, along the frontier with syria, a narrow stream marks the porous border, where constance patrolled just kilometers from the front line. supportersovernment are increasingly reliant on hezbollah. >> morally and politically, hezbollah helps us, but they are not militarily involved in our fight. we are defending our land from those bombing ou

weapons to some, and most of the extreme elements, and those elements of the opposition, like the free syrian army they support a conclusive political outcome. they are starved for weapons. we need to start farming those elements that actually have a vision for syria that is consistent with ours, rather than sitting on our hands, so all of the weapons are going assad regime or elsewhere. that is the situation on the ground right now. >> thank you. as the conflict in syria widens, some are being drawn into the fight. the leader of the lebanon hezbollah group says that syria rebels will not be able to defeat the government military. our correspondent was looking at how they can avoid being dragged into the war next door. >> heading north through the lebanon valley, along the frontier with syria, a narrow stream marks the porous border, where constance patrolled just kilometers from the front line. supportersovernment are increasingly reliant on hezbollah. >> morally and politically, hezbollah helps us, but they are not militarily involved in our fight. we are defending our land from those bombing ou

host: you mentioned the armond the free syrian army.uest: there is a chance and that is an excellent question. that's where you have to make a decision when you work a policy issue like this. is quite regime bristle. -- brutal. they are key proponents of the use of torture. they do that on the wrong people and their political opponents. they also harbor groups that are opposed to israel. not are not a good actor, to mention the iranian port. is, if,r side of that as the current events indicate, the free syrian army, if they take over syria, what happens next? we don't really know who they are. we know some elements of them. we know there are some elements that are in favor of a more secular approach to problems of the middle east. the problem with that is, any party of the center politically is going to have a very difficult time getting popular support and having the charismatic leaders that are necessary to take a country like syria from a broken state into a feature that would be viable for that country. syria has so many diverse eth

have been used the question really is who is to blame now as one of the commanders although the free syrian army recently claimed that they have opposition fighters among government troops told to securing syrian chemical arsenal now the u.s. historian gerald horne says that this leaves a plenty of room for publication. it's deja vu all over again we will remember the disaster as an adventurous u.s. and british invasion of iraq in two thousand and three based on allegations of weapons of mass destruction that proved to be faulty therefore we must ask some very difficult and searching questions for example what was the chain of custody with regard to the samples taken from the battlefield of syria to leopard stories and wonder and in washington was there or was there the possibility of contamination or foul play or hanky panky with these samples and how can you show that the regime rather than the rebels actually use these alleged chemical weapons and since we already know the next security and divisions within the military is driving the conflict in both syria and iraq how do we know that someon

the rebel commanders in an interview he had said that actual defectors within the syrian army are now being asked by the free syrian army to remain where they are so that they can prevent the chemical weapons and armored vehicles falling into the hands of extremist groups so if it's just another twist in what he said is an incredibly complex situation on the ground that in light of the recent statements and the prime minister here in the u.k. echoing what the u.s. is that it has he says that there is no hard evidence as yet that chemical weapons have actually been used in the country and i think that highlights really why it's a vital and why there's been so much action to try and get the u.n. investigated that all in the ground to try and get some of this verification because of course very hard to base very important decisions about what will be the next steps that countries like the u.s. and the k. without the hard evidence to base these decisions on or to course want to serve for a larger long thank you. well and with a conflict of brewing and water on syria alarming reports show europeans are heading th

turkish border do you guys still have control over this territory or are at this point it's the free syrian army and the turkish side too are the only authorities there it's very difficult to speak about the control of the net. in the north because there was. a certain point tried to kidnap or do something and then you know that doesn't mean that they control the point do they just make swift here and there and then you know that's how the that's how they function but. they do not control the area i don't think they do but the media has a life will be told and speaking about how much per cent of the come to their control and what this is. what they're doing only in order to serve to the political legend. have an interest in the. being the sudan and the one thing the crisis anyway so the government forces still have some control over the north of the country right. absolutely not on this some control is a lot of control over the north and the south and the middle and the west and east of the country definitely president assad has recently appealed to brics countries to actually intervene and stop

he committed food and medical supplies to free syrian army will meet today with opposition leaders to discuss the possibility of expanding the support even further. meanwhile, there are new hazards to choosing size in this situation. "the washington post" reporting schisms are deepening between different factions of rebel groups and that fighting could break out among them pitting moderates against islamic extremists. back here at home, new immigration legislation getting closer to the senate floor. senator john mccain says the so-called gang of eight is making progress on the bipartisan bill and it could done as soon as this week. the sticking point is rules for bringing farm work nears the u.s. the department of agriculture estimate az half million of them are undocumented. some labor groups fear too many foreign workers would depress u.s. wages or even kill american jobs. the immigration bill would end deportation fears for most of the approximately 11 million people who are living in the united states illegally. >>> also the fbi is now looking into claims by senator mitch mcconnel

the free syrian army says were members of hezbollah. george sobran has warned hezbollah to stay out of the ongoing conflict appeared meanwhile, to do prominent syrian bishops have reportedly been kidnapped. state media say rebel fighters and aleppo abducted the leaders of the greek orthodox churches. the men were reportedly doing humanitarian work at the time. as more from lebanon. >> these bishops are the most senior and the christian community who have been kidnapped threat the past two years. many other christians been kidnapped in the past, sometimes for ransom. their kidnapping, however, since a lot of concern and alarm to the christian community and aleppo and throughout syria. most of the christian community is very concerned about the developments in the country in the past few years. they are afraid of the rising power of the groups and most support assad. many have left the country, especially aleppo, as the battles rage there in the past six months. for many people in syria, this is just another sign of how the situation is d

damascus suburb during an attack that happened there now this as one of the commanders of the free syrian army had claimed that he had agents actually infiltrating syria's government and its military forces and that they were working to secure any kind of chemical weapons stockpiles that were being used by the syrian government while historian gerald horne says all of this leaves plenty of room for doubt and even provocation. it's deja vu all over again we will remember the disastrous an adventurous u.s. and british invasion of iraq in two thousand and three based on allegations of weapons of mass destruction that proved to be faulty therefore we must ask some very difficult and searching questions for example what was the chain of custody with regard to the samples taken from the vattel field of syria to leopard stories of london and in washington was there was there the possibility of contamination or play or hanky panky with these samples and how can you show that the regime rather than the rebels actually used these alleged chemical weapons and since we already know the syrian divisions wi

. >> what about this -- >> are you opposed to the idea that the turks would enable the free syrian army on their border to establish a safe zone? >> who is the free syrian army? >> soldiers that have defected -- >> because they will not -- okay. improper posing -- >> you don't know they are. yet, you are say week -- >> i'm just say -- are you really opposed given what's happening the turks originally said -- >> the answer is yes. >> establish their own buffer zone but they cross the border that's war with turkey. you are saying it is not okay if they armed people that defected from an army because they won't with fire on their own people to establish -- >> you are oversimplifying who the free syrian army are. look what happened. you were supportive of intervention in libya. >> i was. >> look what happened to libya. >> i think it is better than qaddafi. >> wait. i'm sorry to cut you off. i want to continue that this. let's take a break and come back. [ jackie ] it's just so frustrating... ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always

or so-called free syrian army as well as those who are fighting under the umbrella of the store front or al-qaeda or other other similar affiliations those are the tools who are committing these atrocities and if they are to be condemned by the opposition it means that they are condemning their own tools and human rights groups they complaining the situation is getting very little coverage we're talking about it now with you here in r.t. but why do you think the media is generally ignoring this. well i mean from from the very start this is a war syria on all fronts so media is only one of the fronts on the ground you have extremists who are being sent with doctoring idiology and at the same on the power on the parallel you'll have a media war that justifies these acts sometimes it masks these atrocities sometimes it blurs the idea and makes it so murky that such atrocities are reported to be blamed on both sides while we know that for example the syrian army for decades has been involved in conflicts in several conflicts inside syria and outside syria and such atrocities have never be

opposition is using the opposition on the ground has house militants so called a or so-called free syrian army as well as those who fight under the umbrella of front. or other similar affiliations those are the tools who are committing these atrocities and if they are to be condemned by the opposition it means that they are condemning their own tools. a second round of talks over iran's nuclear program has begun to a somewhat slow start the sticking point being you rainy and enrichment the e.u.'s negotiators are said to have offered iran a proposal to which they're still awaiting an answer but iran has its own conditions ones that there are still a lot of questions about according to russian officials first assad mohammad marandi from the university of tehran explains why iran is sticking to its guns. that demand so basically. they run against iran's sovereignty and iran's independence. both individuals and nations they are innocent until proven guilty the iranians. have been open to the i.a.e.a. the iranians actually halted nuclear enrichment enrichment for about two years they . allowed that

civilians who are to let them feel the fear and the panic that the rebel forces that the so-called free syrian army is in charge of from where they can do what they want we are in the west all base from the media the regime the so-called rich aiming the population this is what we hear nonstop the reality is what chills the bomb explosion of to date right the other way the rebel forces are pushing on the civilians and they are of panic thinking then terrorists are infiltrating the cities and of course they are not just a taking central bank like to date but also very important to see billion sports like electricity stations schools. the stations and so on so you see it's hard for the government to secure every square meter of the city from terrorist attacks online the weather love it or loathe it with a lengthy winter along with an overwhelming snowfalls but a godsend for a growing number of russian thrill seekers got some great pictures online but as you can see now if you go over this side of the laws of gravity don't apply to them . they get through it safely for the selections of the best snow d

syria because we have to stop these militants coming back to being trained by elements of the free syrian armyor whatever opposition movement there is in syria and returning to the suspects in the boston marathon bombings all logically products of self radicalization and if i ever claim that they planned the attack alone without any. wars instigated by the west in muslim communities and countries does this mean do you think that the u.s. and european allies should review international policies that we should understand the impact of nato and u.s. foreign policy and the disastrous consequences unleashed in afghanistan iraq libya mali who knows where next just just say that one understands that as a catalyzing effect on people that we must remember are in these environments where islamophobia is rife in their media where they are being stopped and searched by police forces and so forth just to say one understand that foreign policy may have an impact seemingly is to be accused you get accused in britain and in the united states of being so patriotic and somehow a threat just by expressing that v

civilians who are to let them feel the fear and the panic that the rebel forces that the so-called free syrian army is in charge of where they can do what they want we are in the west always from the media that the regime the so-called aiming the population this is what we hear nonstop the reality is what kills the bomb explosion of to date right the other way the rebel forces are pushing on the civilians and they are of panic and then we are now speaking not about the typical for what is going on we are talking about pure terrorism this hearing government would have to secure every corner in damascus when i was in damascus last year in summer it was already the situation like this that bombs car bombs were exploding and because terrorists are infiltrating the cities and of course they are not just the taking the central bank like to date but also very important to see billion sports like electricity stations schools. the stations and so on so you see it's hard for the government to secure every square meter off the city from terrorist attacks. they are put out tonight turkish police crackdown on a

forces at this moment and being evaluated well right now one of the commanders of the syria free syrian army opposition forces saying that he has his soldiers infiltrated into areas military in order to secure any stockpiles of chemical weapons that they have and make sure that they are not used against rebel forces well all of this leaves a lot of wiggle room according to u.s. historian gerald horne for any kind of doubt and also even maybe provocation. it's deja vu all over again we will remember the disaster as an adventurous u.s. and british invasion of iraq in two thousand and three based on allegations of weapons of mass destruction that proved to be faulty of therefore we must ask some very difficult and searching questions for example what was the chain of custody with regard to the samples taken from the vattel field of syria to leopard stories of london and in washington was there was there the possibility of contamination or file play or hanky panky with these samples and how can you show that the regime rather than the rebels actually used these alleged chemical weapons and since