billions have been spent on training the iraqi police and the iraqi army. and of course it's all the result of paul bremer's disbanding both organizations the entire iraqi military the iraqi national police so when it comes to the police however which is part of the iraqi ministry of interior of there was when i was there there were. i was on the ministry defense side but the guys i work with were on the ministry of interior side training iraqi police and the fact is they had to start from scratch from from nothing because they had been disbanded so what have we gotten i mean the news that's coming out right now with the craziest thing it since it's insane be because we didn't even get the iraqi government permission to do this well they didn't even buy they didn't even know about it there was no buy in of the host government there was no buy in that there was no commitment it's just so crazy if you think about it i know you know when i joined a gym i had to fill out lots of paperwork. to sign my name on the dotted line that i would commit to that jim for a

the iraqi army is checking each car that passes. to take in a camera you need special permission and an armed escort. but to give us freedom of movement we'd rather enter illegally. as there are several cars in front of us and we're in the third one we're waiting come and fetch us. thanks to abu yunus one of the soldiers lets us through for his own safety we don't film him. after an hour's wait we finally passed through the checkpoint. welcome to fallujah three hundred thousand inhabitants considered the most dangerous city in iraq. nothing here has really changed since the battle life goes on the streets are teeming but the traces of war are still here and the iraqi soldiers carry on patrolling. in this prison town it's hard to keep a low profile if you're carrying a camera so to keep us safe as we move around with influenza yunus follows close behind he'll be our guardian angel. this neighborhood is one of the hardest hit by the bombing half the buildings are in ruins not one wall has been spared by bullets. this former iraqi sold

keen oil stays in the iraqi hands.did not turn out that way. 2006, the draft started to leak out. in december 2006, i attended a meeting of iraq's trade unions in which they decided they would fight the law. during the course of 2007, this became a central struggle over iraq's will bring. as you remember, amy, general 2007, bush said he was sending an extra troops into iraq. the troops were sent to achieve control over iraq. the second part of the strategy was to use that control, that influence, to pressure iraqi politicians to achieve what they call benchmarks. as reported at the time, the foremost among these was getting an oil law passed. throughout 2007, there is constant pressure from the bush to administration on iraqi politicians. at the same time, the trade unions' organizing to try to stop the oil law because they thought would be a disaster for the country. that campaign spread. because of the strength of iraqi feeling about it, over the subsequent months, the more it was talked about, the more people oppose

british, and iraqi governments. they also got a hold of a round 1000 government documents from the british and american governments under the freedom of information act's. through all of this, i was able to tell the story of how the struggle of oil played out during the occupation. >> we will take a break. when we come back, we'll speak with greg muttitt, author of a "fuel on the fire: oil and politics in occupied iraq." then we go back to the green convention. on saturday, the new presidential and vice- presidential candidates gave their acceptance speeches. then we will hear from gar alperovitz, who gave a speech about third-party worker movements. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> "the price of oil." this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. our guest is greg muttitt author of "fuel on the fire: oil and politics in occupied iraq." his book took about a decade of research. naomi klein called nothing short of a secret history of the war. talk about the oil law. >> this is

iraqi government. during the transition, which was a very difficult time and we all agree, we were turned down on three of our seven movement requests. that was a very difficult time. since then, we have been able to make site visits. you have been there, too. it takes a lot of planning. you cannot just drop in, which sometimes we like to do, particularly on the investigative side. everyone knows we're coming and that can create some problems for us, but so far, we have been able to do our work. as aid has moved from not the traditional kind of work, reconstruction as they were doing it quite a bit in the early days, now there's a lot of technical assistance, meat and potatoes, democracy and government, civil society, those kinds of things. most of that is located in and around baghdad. we are confident that if we're smart about it and we work with teh rso that we can do our job. it is an extraordinary expense to be there, so we're going to change our footprint. going to provide substantial oversight.

much to boast about the iraqi people deserve a lot better and it is i think teetering on being a failed state when we'll talk about that and i think and douglas it looks like we traded one a dictator for another. oh i hardly think that's the case. look iraq has to various serious problems it's in a political crisis largely because the two major parties in the last election. allow always and maliki's state a law party essentially tied actually alan our we got two more seats and then maliki was able to outmaneuver him in forming the government that's a lot of inside politics i'll get into that but as centrally these two parties tied and that's left the government essentially paralyzed and in a political crisis and i'm unable to really form a government and unlike say obama and hillary maliki and allawi have not been able to kiss and make up and do what's right for the country and that's a problem so we were rolling political crisis and second we have a serious terrorism problem with al qaeda and iraq and they are showing some weaknesses in the government the fact that the security ministr

in syria may also be driven by sick terror and division most iraqis a shia mosque travels a sunni a year's base shia group has just published a statement calling on the united nations to intervene according to our sources in say. thousands of shia muslims are in danger of massacred by the free syrian army and groups affiliated with them she rights watch has learned from many shia muslims living in the area that the free syrian army has threatened to massacre all the shia in the area unless they flee yet not everybody is scary the way. a sunni syrian and an m a share iraqi have been neighbors and friends for seven years ever since the killing of animals has been forced here to leave iraq they say we want freedom what freedom do you want in syria mosques they have girls with their heads covered and girls with their heads uncovered you have christians sunni's in shiites they say they want freedom but is this the way to treat your country when you want freedom but iraqis know better than anyone else how relentless and how damaging the foreign quest for freedom would be on the boycott r.

waged war in that country and now have to flee yet again at this bus station iraqi destinations have never been in such high demand as now after several dozen residents of this area were shot or be had it in the past two weeks many are scrambling to leave when mohammed who arrived here with his family in two thousand and three is also packing i've never come across such security is in syria and such a government is in syria it's a good state a good nation but the rebels come here with weapons to destroy our homes and we have no idea why the residents accuse the rebels of terrorizing their community extorting money or kidnapping for ransom while their regions of the gangs are unknown many here believe it's fighting alongside the free syrian army. the usa is not an independent nation because its government does not hear what its people are saying because whichever country it invades it destroys america invaded iraq libya egypt and yemen and is. not brought peace to any of them now after nine years iraq still can't produce enough electricity for a whole day and only for an hour or two.

a sunni syrian and an m a share iraqi have been neighbors and friends for seven years ever since the killing of animals has been forced here to leave iraq they say we want freedom what freedom do you want in syria mosques they have girls with their heads covered and girls with their heads uncovered you have christians sunni's in shiite and they say they want freedom but is this the way to treat your country when you want freedom but iraqis know better than anyone else how relentless and how damaging the foreign quest for freedom would be. on the boycott r.t. reporting from damascus in syria syria's opposition says thousands of government troops have been moved to the country's commercial hub of aleppo the city has been plagued by fierce street battles for almost a week now since the rebels moved in from the outskirts of whose money is to catch up by phone with a reporter who is currently in the city. from the many police centers in the city by the opposition members of. syrian free army. as you know. there are some clashes in the city in some parts of the far east. side of the city s

wage war in that country and now have to flee again at this bus station iraqi destinations have never been in such high demand. as now after several dozen residents of this area were shot or beheaded in the past two weeks many a scrambling to leave i don't know how much we're right here because family in two thousand and three is also packing. i feel so sad about what's happening in syria when terrorists struck a rock this country accepted us with open arms it's become our second home and now they're turning it into a second iraq the residents accuse the rebels of terrorizing their community extorting money or kidnapping for ransom while their regions of the gangs are on known many here believe it's. fighting alongside to free syrian army somebody. how kind it wouldn't be here without the united states i want to tell people of america do not believe your leaders he's country that was subject to american intervention suffered a lot in iraq nine years after the war we still don't have electricity or running water there are still killings we just need america to leave us alone and then w

a sunni syrian and an m a share iraqi have been neighbors and friends for seven years ever since the killing of animals has been forced here to leave iraq they say we want freedom what freedom do you want in syria mosques they have girls with their heads covered and girls with their heads uncovered you have christians sunni's in shiites they say they want freedom but is this the way to treat your country when you want freedom but iraqis know better than anyone else how relentless and how damaging the foreign quest for freedom would be on the boycott r.t. reporting from damascus in syria and it is coming to life in the heart of moscow still ahead for you in this hour of war for some show time for others. is something that you want to see some oh i know we too are in or we might not be present but there is an attraction to see the thing that actually occupies the media that we report why a vantage point on the israeli border with syria has now become a tourist attraction for many of the comers. and over in saudi arabia now the royal family has stepped up its crackdown on protesters tha

where can these iraqi christians go? >> foreign fighters moving into the country practically everyday this group of snipers recently >> there are 10 other existing cells supporting this cell. >> some 16,000 people have died march 2011. >> the so-called arab spring have made it difficult for christians in the middle east. my good friend carl muller joins us. this is the christians in the civil war, tell us why they are more vulnerable and the difficulties they are facing today. christians have been moreless as the regime gets more desperate, christians are caught in the middle suffering greatly. between secular or islamic choice. what does that mean for christians? >> that is true. christians are more vulnerable than ever to the extremists as they mold in the rebel form to our concern is enhanced by the fact that christians are being increasingly targeted in these cities. >> we are seeing iraqis that fled to syria who fled muslim persecution in homeland iraq. the ironny of ironny, the same where can these christians go? >

economy as well as the patients of the iraqi people but with the amount of money taxpayer spend they expect results ahead we'll find out what was also if any have come out of our reconstruction efforts in the country. there it is monday july thirtieth four pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for zero and you're watching r t well when it comes to our financial woes in this country there's a common perception that only a few things are to blame. the reason why we have the national debt at the level we have is because of spending and also the dramatic expansion of entitlement programs without paying for this is a budget busting health care bill that i think is going to bankrupt our country bottom line. we can't protect these entitlements and also the national defense we need to protect us in a dangerous world. well very rarely do we hear people saying defense spending needs to be cut and in fact most people are constantly saying we need more and more well here's something to think about the u.s. inspector general for iraq reconstruction now says taxpayers have been funding a two hundred

a sunni syrian and an m a share iraqi have been neighbors and friends for seven years ever since the killing of animals has been forced here to leave iraq they say we want freedom what freedom do you want in syria mosques they have girls with their heads covered and girls with their heads uncovered you have christians sunni's in shiites they say they want freedom but is this the way to treat your country when you want freedom but iraqis know better than anyone else how relentless and how damaging the foreign quest for freedom would be on the boycott r.t. reporting from damascus in syria. well syria's opposition says thousands of government troops are being moved to the country's commercial hub aleppo the city has reportedly same fierce street battles for almost a week some troubles moved in from the outskirts the focus of the conflict shifted after the army flushed out what it described as militants from key districts in the capital but those defeats were ignored by the u.s. which held the rebels actions and pledged more support ross baker from the investigative website who what why

a sunni syrian and an m a share iraqi have been neighbors and friends for seventy. years ever since the killing of animals has been forced here to leave iraq they say we want freedom what freedom do you want in syria mosques they have girls with their heads covered and girls with their heads uncovered you have christians sunni's in shiites they say they want freedom but is this the way to treat your country when you want freedom but iraqis know better than anyone else how relentless and how damaging the foreign quest for freedom could be next on the boycott r t reporting from damascus in syria and we are coming to you live from the heart of moscow where still to come in the program catching a glimpse of the killing in syria. get back to occupies the media now it's like you feel you are in the center of stuff tourists flock to the israeli occupied golan heights to get a peek of the deadly action across the border those details coming your way just a just a few minutes on. plus a police in central russia still have no clue as to why hundreds of human embryos were foun

the self-appointed leader of the iraqi branch of al qaida abu barker all baghdadi has announced the resurgence of terror in the country and clearly indicated there is more to come moreover he dedicated more than half of his online speech to the uprising in syria they happen to be staunch supporters of the rebels they are various organizations are pointing at the expansion of terrorist networks in syria which effectively fuels civil war there so this iraqi based all cried a leader also. warned the syrian rebels quote not to accept a new rule or constitution but god's will and islamic law otherwise quote you will

any capacity building, any iraqi governnt, h mtoe s. pde eecal sicetman hvyt twedwi asanheang how to d and will eventually take over into on their own. >> america certainly invested a lot in blood and treasure in iraq areuys my me h pianwi rnihe inmboren. thfrim tyoe hi committee. would you put your microphone on for us or pull it closer, one of thk yoher? you4,un ss onini whau gh >>rhe are 16,000 -- 16,000 total of which 1600 art anotr , qatlst empoyees. o dilyloby cocts, both american, iraqi and third country national. tdoovtecy. the 14,000 e ic scy. derns teeouropes o iraq. they do life support such as feeding our personl, medical, aviati, an mal mb atre f ihe vi. 20eoletao ha cct sir. what is the embassy in egypt ok like in terms of those same installations? >> certaly egypt dotve u crnat ceir. hau, approximately -- that is 6500 of tha 14,000 or inranpeneha fni. avw sen the world and it's directly related the security conditions, which are improving but are innturpenenot athine owy r of the security personnel are we responsible for?

a sunni syrian and a share iraqi have been neighbors and friends for seven years ever since the killing of animals has been forced here to leave iraq they say we want freedom what freedom do you want in syria mosques they have girls with their heads covered and girls with their heads uncovered you have christians sunni's in shiites they say they want freedom but is this the way to treat your country when you want freedom but iraqis know better than anyone else how relentless and how damaging the foreign quest for freedom would be on the boycott r.t. reporting from damascus in syria. keeping a close eye on the developments in syria with crews reporting from the heart of the country from the boyko isn't damascus bringing you the latest updates and pictures via twitter country says people are beginning to return after last week's rebel assault on the city with damage to the infrastructure across the country now estimated at eleven billion dollars. and still ahead for you on our sea a grim discovery hundreds of five month old fetus is are found dumped in a russian forest hills they may have

a sunni syrian and an m a share iraqi have been neighbors and friends for seven years ever since the killing of animals has been forced here to leave iraq they say we want freedom what freedom do you want in syria mosques we have girls with their heads covered and girls with their heads uncovered we have christians sunni's in shiites they say they want freedom but is this the way to treat your country when you want freedom but iraq is no better than anyone else how relentless and how damaging the foreign quest for freedom would be on the boycott r.t. reporting from damascus in syria. on friday saudi arabia unleashed its police on protesters who have been demanding reforms and and to discrimination activists say around fourteen demonstrators were injured after officers used tear gas and live ammunition a number of them also detained earlier this month the saudi government had to deploy troops to the country's oil rich eastern province which is mostly populated by shia muslims they've been venting their anger at the sunni role family and that massive arrests of political activists sile

but we continue to believe that iraqi security forces are up to the task, that the security situation over the last couple of years has improved in iraq as has the capability of iraqi forces. >> warner: al qaeda and iraq played a major role in fomenting brutal sectarian warfare in 2006 and 2007. for more on all of this i spoke to a reporter in baghdad. welcome, jane. what do today's attacks, the targets the locations tell us about the reemergence of this sunni insurnlent group >> basically, margaret, it tells us they have a pretty good reach. if you lookate at those targets and the sheer scope of them, the number of them, the fact that they do appear to have some organizational ability to coordinate, it tells us that they are indeed still there. now the targets are pretty much the same as they have been. their military, their police, their shias, ordinary people. but essentially al qaeda said it is coming back. it says it's coming back in those areas where some of the attacks were today. those include areas outside of baghdad in what was called the baghdad belt which was traditionally

many iraqi journalists lost their lives because their killers did not agree with their views and as a tragic result sometimes in the streets of baghdad coffins passed each other by. independent journalism faces both friendly fire and the blind fanaticism of terrorists and journalist giuliana sgrena victim of abduction herself returns to iraq after four and a half years. the death follows us no matter where we are no matter which side we cover to make you look to most of this absolute blind to violence religious hatred and fanaticism that was my case when i was an abduction victim by a group of fanatics. i survived but many of my colleagues were not that lucky. and so by danny was one of them. fifty six year old italian journalist and zabadani was traveling with the italian red cross convoy towards my job carrying provisions for the wounded. here and i just thought of our concern is to deliver medicine is and water to the wounded of the city and of course to be able to come back safe if board up and i thank you and i send my regards to all italians of the you get it and i know now talk

we did not dig deep enough, and we have persisted in ignoring the iraqi side to quite shocking degrees. to find out what was really going on in iraq during the war, i had to do some journalism. people have been speaking out. we have a lot of people like that. we had a few, but not enough. of course, we also have to deal with censorship and then not being allowed to share the bodies of people coming home or the coffins, rather. not respecting and getting an idea of the numbers on both sides, the chaos were gone. i would be quite critical, actually. i am generalizing and there have been original reports by reporters who covered that war. i would like to pay tribute to [inaudible name]. may he rest in peace. he was a well respected reporter in the region. >> host: helen benedict, have you written about were previously or was it this war that grabbed you? >> guest: i have never written about combat. an actual war on the ground the way i had here. this is a new subject for me, which is why there has to be a lot of research and it took me many interviews to really absorb what it's like. and

army how long will iraqis have to suffer the consequences of the war. the bush administration boasted of waging a clean war but it continues to sacrifice generations of children both in iraq and the united states. in fallujah two to three deformed babies are born every day most live but a few hours. the space in the cemetery reserved for these victims grow steadily. culture is that so much given to each musician and find the mark legend and its interrupted revolution intensifying standoff getting a democratically elected president against entrenched military is polarizing. resistance is not a politics but a culture. this could. on its own. cultures of resistance on the margins. the global economy. mission. should be free. free. free. free. free free. free . an.