journey begins on the mountains of iraqi kurdistan. an army of two hundred thousand soldiers called peshmerga watch over this rather particular region of the country. was. my first stop is an l.b.o. the capital of iraqi kurdistan is the only region of iraq today that is seeing peace and an economic boom the miracle of being made possible by the discovery of oil on kurdish territory. from. long time dominated by baghdad and saddam hussein kurdistan dreams of achieving autonomy. the first customer the first passenger on our trip is a member of the new kurdish parliament. that's the. biggest you know with in iraq we can say that oil has always been a curse. but today in kurdistan that's changing the. foreign oil companies are coming here to work with. the revenues that finally being used for reconstruction and what negative it's a huge difference for us as in saddam's times we never benefited from the oil money or new see that he had any of this that. he went to so it's quite simple we could spend for where iraqis where the i think they'r

journey begins on the mountains of iraqi kurdistan. an army of two hundred thousand soldiers called peshmerga watch over this rather particular region of the country. was. my first stop is an l.b.o. the capital of iraqi kurdistan is the only region of iraq today that is seeing peace and an economic boom the miracle of being made possible by the discovery of oil on kurdish territory. from. time dominated by baghdad and saddam hussein kurdistan dreams of achieving autonomy. the first customer the first passenger on our trip is a member of the new kurdish parliament. here but just you know what in iraq we can say that oil has always been a curse. but today in kurdistan that's changing. foreign oil companies are coming here to work with. the revenues of finally being used for reconstruction and whatnot it's a huge difference for us as in saddam's times we never benefited from the oil money or would he had any put this that. he went so it's quite simple we could spend four where iraqis where the maoists i think they're very rapidly as soon

officials say any problems are more than compensated for with a huge annual investment into kurdistan's economy which has suppressed one hundred million dollars annually for the past four years but money locals never see means little to the carcass people who describe the treatment they receive from the u.s. military personnel as derogatory and would much rather see their crops grow than have another plane spilling fuel into their drinking water in kurdistan in the r.t.e. . now have you ever wanted to take to the streets in protest for an important cause or perhaps join security services to try to restore the peace well soon you'll be able to do both of those things with a new video game giving you the opportunity to be on either side of the barricade without putting yourself in direct danger artie's alexia she explains. soon you will be able to take part in the street protest from the comfort of your armchair coming out for handheld devices and p.c.'s is the first riot simulator game wrapped in pixel graphics and old school sounds it will let you choose sides protesters or the police a

officials say any problems are more than compensated for with a huge annual investment into kurdistan's economy which has surpassed one hundred million dollars annually for the past four years but money locals never see means little to the carcass people who describe the treatment they receive from the u.s. military personnel as derogatory and would much rather see their crops grow than have another plane spilling fuel into their drinking water in kurdistan. r.t. . and after a short break piece about his guys discuss a bonus point to says how old is the shape of the united states is up next. you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture. wealthy british style sun. sometimes. markets why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's cars or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on r g.

military refueling plane went down in the toll mountains of kurdistan people in the nearby villages are still reeling from the effects of the crash we've been it went into the mountains right into three fresh water springs where villages get their drinking water the fuel leaked into the streams and now it's impossible to drink people now say their livestocks beginning to get sick and when americans came here to get the wreckage they drove right over our pastors and fields. the k c one thirty five straight a tanker was one of the planes station to the airbase which for a decade has been a major hub for the u.s. led war in afghanistan the base was renamed under the government of president bakiev to rid of any association with another country's military presence on the ground some thought that the heated debate surrounding the airbase would window once it was are named into a transit center changing the nature of its activity but people in surrounding towns and villages say nothing has changed and they continue to feel the negative effects of the american presence no matter how much money

military refueling plane went down in the mountains of kurdistan people in the nearby villages are still reeling from the effects of the crash of the budget went into the mountains right into three fresh water springs where villages get their drinking water the fuel leaked into the streams and now it's impossible to drink people now say their livestock beginning to get sick and when americans came here to get the wreckage they drove right over our pastors and fields. the k.c. one thirty five straight a tanker was one of the planes stationed in the manassas air base which for a decade has been a major hub for the u.s. led war in afghanistan the base was renamed under the government of president bush to rid of any association with another country's military presence on the ground some thought that the heated debate surrounding the air base would window once it was are named into a transit center changing the nature of its activity but the people in surrounding towns and villages say nothing has changed and they continue to feel the negative effects of the american presence no matter how mu

officials say any problems are more than compensated for with a huge annual investment into kurdistan's economy which has surpassed one hundred million dollars annually for the past four years but money locals never see means little to the people who describe the treatment they receive from the u.s. military personnel as derogatory and would much rather see their crops grow than have another plane spilling fuel into their drinking water in kurdistan. or t.v. . now there are also plenty more stories that r.t. dot com including bahrain justice critics slam the country's ideas of right and wrong saying charges remain against protesters well police are acquitted of murder to r.t. dot com for the full story. you can also click on to our you tube channel to find out what happens next on this bus ride from hell. if you ever wanted to take to the streets in protest at an important cause or perhaps join security forces to try to restore peace on the streets well soon you will be able to do both with a new right a video game giving you the opportunity to be on either side of the barricade without

. >> the risks for turkey is the pkk will establish an independent kurdistan, which is unacceptable. pkk fighters have been trained to form a defect of kurdistan but it stretches from northern iraq, northwestern syria, to eastern turkey. >> but it's not just the pkk that worries turkey. it is also concerned about allegations syrian troops have used chemical weapons. this year, nato sent six missile batteries to southern turkey to intercept any missiles that would stretch across the border. ankara wants more. it has repeatedly called for nato to send troops into syria to secure the stockpiles of chemical weapons. >> the biggest threat is either by the regime or some of the rebel groups, if these weapons are passing into the hands of the scripps, you may never know where they may end up or may day -- if these weapons end up in hands of these groups, you never know where they may end up. >> turkey is left grappling with the growing conflict. officials are frustrated that our four countries like the u.s. are not showing the same enthusiasm for an aggressive role to end the conflict in sy

and reporting like to a state of emergency in kurdistan is hundreds of fear is gold by workers cause a blackout of the facility the attempts to force its canadian owners to share the wealth. just joined us lovely to have you with us sit sick kevin or when you're at our tea tonight in moscow the time not just after nine pm our top story the financial heart of the eurozone under siege today with thousands of anti a sturdy protest is descending on vital banking institutions in the city of frankfurt riot squads have been out in force bracing themselves for clashes with water cannon and police dog units at the ready peter all of the reports than from germany's financial hub thousands of demonstrators have come out onto the streets of frankfurt's on friday to take part in block twenty thirteen they've essentially shut off access to the european central bank which has its headquarters here in the german city front but is of course home to many large banks one of the world's largest banking sectors not like thousands have come out to voice their anger against the banking sector and the way t

fire another was completely destroyed a state of emergency has been declared by the government in kurdistan the latest we're hearing from some of those news sources reports that most of those protesters have possibly now dispersed only the leaders remain and they say they'll stay there until their demands are met these follow earlier protests where protesters came to try and blockade the mine and cut the power to it earlier the canadian company centerra gold which owns the mine say's these actions are illegal but the protesters have a variety of demands of their own ranging from the redistribution of some of the wealth from the mine to the state's budget increase social benefits nationalisation and concerns about the local ecology and lack of infrastructure the mine itself which brings about twelve percent into stands for me has been the subject of heated debate in may two thousand and twelve a similar protest your creations of a mind that was just one of a number of similar kinds of protests and the government very nervous about these kind of situations because of political unrest in the c

the story we're keeping a close eye on tonight very fluid situation the situation in kurdistan there now a state of emergency has been declared in the north after days of gold mine workers protests so at least fifty five people injured and angry mobs also captured a government building in a southern city to the latest development there demanding a prisoner's release artie's tom barnes across the story. according to the latest information we have from a variety of news sources including local journalists on the ground that we've managed to get in touch with around two thousand protesters attempted to storm the mine in eastern stand resulting in violent clashes with riot police at the at the site dozens were wounded including protesters and police exchanges of rubber bullets stun grenades and of stones one police bus was set on fire another was completely destroyed a state of emergency has been declared by the government in kurdistan the latest we're hearing from some of those news sources reports that most of those protesters have possibly now dispersed only the leaders remain and the

and a state of emergency in kurdistan as hundreds of furious gold mine workers cause a blackout at the facility and attempts to force its canadian owners to share the well. if you just joined us this is r.t. live from moscow is kevin owen here tonight at r t h q just after ten pm first the financial heart of the eurozone is under siege today with thousands of protesters descending on vital banking institutions in the city of frankfurt right squads are out in force to bracing themselves for clashes with water cannon and police dog units at the ready participator all over reports than from germany's financial hub thousands of demonstrators have come out onto the streets of run goods on friday to take part in block twenty thirteen they've essentially shut off access to the european central bank which has its headquarters here in the german city front but is of course home to many large banks one of the world's largest banking sectors and that's why thousands have come out to voice their anger against the banking sector and the way that europe's finance. being mismanaged also. showing peop

of emergency in kurdistan as hundreds of furious goldmine of workers threaten a blackout of the facility to force its canadian owners to share the wealth. this is r.t. coming to live from the russian capital and marina joshing how the financial heart of the eurozone is under siege today with thousands of and host charity protestors descending on vital banking institutions in the city of frankfurt riot squads are out of force to bracing themselves for clashes with water cannon and police dog units of the ready people all over reports from germany's financial hub. thousands of demonstrators have come out into the streets the front of the friday to take a look twenty thirty they've essentially show itself to the european central bank which has its headquarters in the german city front but is a ghost from too many large banks one of the world's largest banking sectors not thousands have come out to voice their anger against the banking sector the way that europe's financial institutions are in their eyes being mismanaged also. drawing people's anger has been the latest big is coming out so w

and reporting tonight to a state of emergency in kurdistan is hundreds of fuel reus gold mine workers cause a blackout at the facility that tends to force its canadian owners to share the wealth.

the kurdistan workers party, 1978.as founded in six years later, it began an armed rebellion against turkey in a conflict that killed more than 40,000 people. two weeks ago, the leader of the pkk announced they would begin withdrawing to kurdish- controlled iraq starting may 8. one expert says this will give them a better quality of life. >> less military pressure, less, andll say, danger, economic growth, better education, better infrastructure. better relations with the neighboring countries, starting whennorthern iraq to syria the war in syria is finishing. they will be the winner in economic terms and political terms in the future. >> and there are reports of al qaeda-linked gunmen who shot dead three air force colonels in southern yemen. the pilots were killed on their way to an air base in the province of lahij. one of the world's most famous football managers has announced he will retire, sir alex ferguson. he has been inside -- in charge for 13hester united years. he will step down after winning 13 premier league titles and two champion league. he will stay on with the club.

. >> fighters from the kurdistan workers party have begun withdrawing from turkey. the pullout, which is part of an historic cease-fire, is the first sign that the long-running conflict between the turkish government and the pkk may be resolved. >> about 2000 rebel fighters are expected to leave turkey and make way for their safe havens in northern iraq. the conflict, which has plagued turkey for three decades, has led to the debts of 40,000 people. >> kurdish fighters are leaving after three decades of conflict. the turkish government says the separatists are making good on last month's pledge to pull out. >> beyond -- the armed groups inside turkish territory are now leaving our borders. the pkk's governing body has its own agenda and has set its own date. >> the route they will be taking from southeastern turkey leads through rough, mountainous terrain. they are headed for the autonomous kurdish areas of northern iraq. the pkk expects the pullout to take several months to complete. but some people in turkey are skeptical that the pullout is for real. too much blo

michael o'hanlon predictive not too long ago that we'd see devolution in the shia stand sunni stan and kurdistan entirely predictable when you go into a contrary with strong central authority remove it remove the army and let all hell break loose basically over a period of years of various ethnic cleansing in the population of areas of refugees of course i mean entirely predictable and what neither of them have mentioned is there's absolutely no sign that this is going to stop anytime soon so i think we're really reaping the whirlwind of what was essentially a huge scam perpetrated on the american people to get them to go into this country and we haven't learned anything from it at all kelly would you like to pick up on that scam and we haven't learned anything. well i think i think ryan crocker recently former ambassador to iraq said it best when he described our our ethos and the american ethos we we go in there we knock things about we break things and we pledge to rebuild and when we find that it's a little more difficult than anticipated we we leave and i think that says it all i mean when

a state of emergency in kurdistan as hundreds of furious gold mine workers threaten the blackout of the facility to force the facilities canadian owners to share the wealth. russia calls for a man to political games over chemical weapons in syria raising concerns over the reported arrest al qaida linked syrian militants in turkey with highly poisonous gas. protesters besieged the euro zone's financial capital while the ranks of riot police stand with a tad dogs and water cannon at the ready in case and passions get out of hand. and president obama's vow to speed up one thomas closure fails just bar cope among more than one hundred hunger strikers the father of one detainee tells r.t. about his son's deteriorating condition. this is a coming to you live from the russian capital i'm marina joshie welcome to the program. of kyrgyzstan has declared a state of emergency in the north after days of gold mine workers protests saw at least fifty five people injured local reporter chef cox argyll who is ad the scene told us what's happening. on thursday the protesters managed to shut down the pow

refueling plane has crashed off to take hold of the kurdistan kazakhstan border in some ways though to them is owned of four crew members called into a regional representative the plane a broke into three pieces as it went down in an uninhibited area shortly after leaving big her gives him an ass airport he used by nato in its war on terror in afghanistan is the us is yet to comment on the reports earlier this week an american convoy of plane crash in afghanistan killing all seven people on board. now bringing you live pictures from california right now where a wild bushfire covering eight thousand acres yes in southern california is heading towards malibu almost one thousand five hundred still battling the blaze which broke out on thursday morning it's forced the evacuation of schools and university and threatens over two thousand homes and countless businesses that. while some said is living europe's most debt ridden countries have been resorting to increasingly desperate measures all of them at one such man we turn to to actually to crime after three decades of office labor in order

iraq should be broken into three countries kurdistan in the north. a sunni would be the east share west sunni west in cheese. and. is that ultimately what's going to happen are we going to see the descent because i mean this is a country that was kind of glued together as a world war because i guess with exactly what let's take the easy one first the kurds in the north are essentially a separate nation in practically every sense of the word they have their own military the push for go they have their own government which is more or less functional they are writing their own oil contracts with the the west they are policing their own borders with turkey they are negotiating their own deals to sell oil to iran they are separate and like i said a separate nation in every possible way other than written down on paper the problem is then dividing the sunni and shia sites and as i mentioned the problem there really is too much power without enough power neither side right now i think has the power to either bring it all together or to take it apart and sad

refueling plane has crashed after takeoff near the kurdistan kazakhstan border in central asia there are so far no knead on the four crewmembers according to a regional representative the plane broke into three pieces and it went down in a area after leaving because this man it was used by nato in its war on terror in afghanistan the u.s. is yet to comment on the reports earlier this week an american congo plane crashed in afghanistan killing all seven people on board. while some citizens are living in europe's most debt ridden countries have been resorting to increasingly desperate measures all these peace all of about one such man returns to quiet after these after three decades of honest labor in order to make ends meet . portugal is certainly beautiful but its current financial woes are making it a living hell for some with one portuguese man claiming that the crisis has driven him to trying. to work for over thirty years in construction before being laid off today he's a convicted bank robber no money. i needed a few hundred euros for medication also we had no food at home this

o'hanlon predictive not too long ago that we'd see devolution in the shias stand sunni stan and kurdistan entirely predictable when you go into a contrary with strong central authority remove it remove the army and let all hell break loose basically over a period of years of various ethnic cleansing in the population of areas of refugees of course i mean entirely predictable and what neither of them have mentioned is there's absolutely no sign that this is going to stop anytime soon so i think we're really reaping the whirlwind of what was essentially a huge scam perpetrated on the american people to get them to go into this country and we haven't learned anything from it at all kelly would you like to pick up on that scam and we haven't learned anything. well i think i think ryan crocker recently former ambassador to iraq said it best when he described our our ethos and the american ethos we we go in there we knock things about we break things and we pledge to rebuild and when we find that it's a little more difficult than anticipated we we leave and i think that says it all i mean when

you have three million kurds inside syria who find common cause with kurds not only in iran and kurdistan but also in turkey. there's a lot of dimensions to this conflict that don't stay neatly within the borders of syria at all and i think israel's attack while sensible and important for israel is a manifestation of a potential broadening of the conflict regionally. >> brown: let me ask you, michelle dunn, is israel, do you think, calculating that it can do this and not bring on retall indication or further spillover effort? do you think that is possible or is that what we may see now? >> well, first of all, i agree with steve that this conflict is metastasizing. it is spreading to other states in the region. i don't think that israel wants that to happen. i do think they were taking what they thought was an opportunity. they had obviously had through some method spotted these missiles and thought this is their opportunity to get rid of these missiles before they get into lebanon. they do seem to be calculating. we saw press leaks that they were calculating that both the syrian governmen

low level war against iraq we had no fly zones we had special forces we had people operating in kurdistan we were systematically destroying the infrastructure of the country i myself was tasked with rebuilding an electrical substation that the united states had specifically destroyed prior to the gulf war in thousand one. ninety one so the infrastructure was gone along with that had gone a lot of the. interest the the integrity the drive of the people there they were they were defeated folks before we even set foot on the ground in two thousand and three so there was nothing really to rebuild we were starting from scratch. the important question of course is to ask going back to your comment about the contractors as well who won the war if we're talking politics i think the answer would be iran but from the united states perspective the contractors we worked i worked very closely with a number of contractors k.b.r. dynaco all the big names that you're familiar with gratefully not blackwater i had security provided by the american army the contractors made more money than any of us could i

>> i was in kurdistan doing a show, a previous show, and i started hearing from friends in the security, shall we say, doing some things there for the british, and they were sending me texts and e-mails saying basicallyi it's awesome here, yu would love it. not the way it's depicted on television. something surprising going on here and very exciting. the idea of who is doing these things, who these people, are very exciting. >> you went to a barbecue? >> yes. we spent much of the time in libya in misrata and libya. riding around in cars with machine guns with these kids and they took to us a beach barbecue in misrata, in the middle of a turbulent time. and it's like any other barbecue, throw an animal on a grill and you have a really good time and get your hands dirty, tell jokes and laugh and cry a little bit. it was an extraordinary experience. >> the difference with this beach barbecue filled with kids, these kids were heavily armed and just fought aiveley war. >> just fought a civil war with do it yourself home made weapons, soviet or russian modern battle tanks with home made cross

and in northern iraq, in kurdistan they have also been very effective.nd they've shown extraordinary stability and democratic progress with the people in those areas where they have served. i just have one more thing i'd like to ask you, because i have heard -- i've been informed about the things i have just mentioned. i haven't fought alongside and observed it as you have. there has been from time to time mention in dealing with these issues of lessons learned. and usually the lessons learned are those lessons that our troops have learned in combat from vietnam and in iraq, but i never, hardly ever hear anything about lessons learned from our experience with the rok army in the 1950s and 1960s -- particularly in the '60 and the recovery of korea after the civil war -- in civil affairs, military action and development. and i'd like to hear some of your views on these things that very seldom come up. thanks. >> well, i used to teach at fort bragg in the regional studies course which is one of the core courses for our civil affairs and sigh-ops officers th

military plane has crashed in kurdistan. the country houses a u.s.a transit center. it is useful for troops coming in and out of afghanistan, also for tanker planes that refuel war planes in flight. a ministry official says the plane crashed near a village about 100 mi. west of the base. it is not known yet if there any casualties. today a task force in new town conn will talk about what to do with sandy hook elementary school. that is where 21st graders and six adults were killed in december by gunmen. the task forces was narrhas narrowed ther choices down to two options are renovate or rebuild sandy hook or build a new school altogether near the current site. fresh off a huge victory over president obama on gun control, the national rifle association is gathering in houston today for its annual convention. organizers for the powerful gun rights lobby expect more than 70,000 people to attend the 3 day stand and fight the in the event. today's schedule includes a political forum was speeches from several state and national conservative leaders. the f

we got to know each other in what i believe was known as kirkuk in iraqi kurdistan in 2003. only a slightly different setting for where we are today. only the second american military officer to command at the division corps and army level at his same time in iraq. words, he knows his profession from all sides. he was assigned to the 18th airborne in north carolina, where he commanded two batteries. from october of 2001 to june of 2004 he commanded the fourth infantry division, leading the division during operation iraqi freedom. from december 2006 to february 2008 he served as a commanding general for the multinational corps as the operational commander for the surge of forces. i think military historians will be looking at that for many years to come. later he served as the commanding general of the math -- multinational force in iraq and subsequent u.s. forces in iraq from september 2008 to september 2010. most recently he commanded the united states joint forces command. he also served as chairman to the joint chiefs of staff where he was a primary military advisor to co