and a lot of critics point out that they were giving you know this german journalist was giving mr assad a platform for his propaganda what is your response to that well if you want to know my personal take on that i think no matter who goes to interview assad it's going to cause a lot of noise and a lot of uproar just because he's such a controversial figure for the rest of the world i don't think i actually saw that interview of the german gentleman and his questions were very much fact based not at all complacent to. the rest is all of you wouldn't want to hear what our side has to say which i believe some people are definitely interested in specially when it has to do with such a complicated conflict. like in syria because things aren't as black and white as we see in the media there are just so many shades of gray so i think it's worth knowing both sides of the story and that's a really good point and that's why we wanted to talk to you as well so if you were in the room with this person did you get the feeling that mr assad is that all conflicted or remorseful about the death and d

from mr assad he said can you help me he said the americans took my money and they are at me very bad and i just came from abu ghraib he told me of one incident where. you know he was strip nude and they tied a rope to his penis with seven or eight other men and then they would these were american personalities telling me they would push one man and then all of them would fall in and they'd be joking and laughing and mocking him. i would ask him who was doing this to you mr sonner and he would say well they were there were two types of people one was dressed some type of military personnel wearing no army and then the other type would be in three billion clothing i go what do you mean three billion color he was like normal pants like an enormous panther a normal shirt. so that's the first time when it struck me that there is another element being involved here in abu ghraib another type of person there. with the hans used to the day i was arrested i went to work in the house well you know with that i'm an electrical engineer the. they have it in i was transported to the abu ghraib pri

for themselves on a kind of democratic process it is up to the syrians to decide whether or not mr bashar assad should remain in power so we should all of all countries in the region and. beyond the region should help the people of syria to decide by themselves on a peaceful. you know way. to find a peaceful settlement a you have a very outspoken person in iran well what does it say if there is a foreign intervention into syria what will the reaction of iran. well you have an official position which you have said very clearly you know i danced. for interfere . in syria this is the position by i what it does what happens is iraq go. well let's hope not nothing would happen like that but as i said he's already got us in syria but that money weapon and elements of sense to syria from outside it's all that. says sayed our boss chee iranian deputy foreign minister spotlighted will be back shortly after a break so stay with us we'll continue this interview in less than a minute. mission . critical three. for free. free. free. free. free broadcast live video for your media projects and free media r.t.

mr. president, the assad regime is involved in a brutal bara crackdown on its people. france is spoupporting -- is the any chance that we would support the rebels? >> i was one of the first that said assad had to go. in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. the situation has deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the situation. we have committed hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid. we're constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they're not splintered and divided in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we're in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan. that immediately border syria and have an impact and obviously, israel, which is having grave concerns, as we do, for example, about movements of chemical weapons that might occur in such a chaotic atmosphere. it could have an impact on the region as a whole. i'm encouraged to see that the opposition created an umbrella group that may

mr. president, the assad regime is involved in a brutal bara crackdown on its people. france is spoupporting -- is the any chance that we would support the rebels? >> i was one of the first that said assad had to go. in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. the situation has deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the situation. we have committed hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid. we're constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they're not splintered and divided in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we're in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan. that immediately border syria and have an impact and obviously, israel, which is having grave concerns, as we do, for example, about movements of chemical weapons that might occur in such a chaotic atmosphere. it could have an impact on the region as a whole. i'm encouraged to see that the opposition created an umbrella group that may

mr. president, the assad regime is engaged in a brutal crackdown on its people. france has recognized the opposition coalition. what would it take for the united states to do the same? and is there any point at which the united states would consider arming the rebels? >> i was one of the first leaders, i think, around the world to say assad had to go, in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. obviously the situation in syria deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the international community as well as regional powers to help the opposition. we've committed hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to help folks both inside of syria and outside of syria. we are constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they're not splintered and divided in the face of the onabsoluo onslaught of the assad regime. we are in close contact with countries like jordan who immediately border syria and israel who is already having grave

clearly, mr. assad is hanging on. minister, what is your assessment now of the military necessity to strike iran's nuclear program? what reason do you have, if any, to believe sanctions are working, as mr. panetta said, if even now iran is able to send rockets into gaza? >> with regard to syria, let me say that it is critical that we have not provided any of those kinds of missiles to the opposition forces located in syria. our focus has been -- we do provide assistance. it is not lethal assistance. we are obviously continuing to work and humanitarian relief to the refugees that have been impacted. and we continue with the assistance of israel and other countries in the region, continue to try to monitor closely what is happening with the cbw sites in that area. but our main focus right now has been to work with other countries and try to provide whatever assistance we can to the opposition so that ultimately it can become not only an effective force but ultimately can come together to provide the kind of political tra

mr. president, the assad regime is engaged in a brutal crackdown on its people. france has recognized the opposition coalition. what would it take for the united states to do the same, and is there any point at which the united states would consider arm, the rebels? >> i was one of the first leaders i think around the world to say assad had to go in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. obviously the situation in syria's deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the international community, as well as regional powers to help the opposition. we've committed to hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to help folks both inside of syria and outside of syria. we are constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they're not splintered and divide in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we're in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan that immediately border syria and have an impact -- and obvio

mr. president, the assad regime engaged in a brutal crackdown on its people. france have recognized the opposition coalition. what would it take for the united states to do the same? is there a point the united states would consider arming the rebels? >> i was one of the first leaders i think around the world to say assad had to go in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. obviously, the situation in syria's deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the international community, as well as regional powers, to help the opposition. we have committed to hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to help folks both inside of syria and outside of syria. we are constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they're not splintered and divided in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we are in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan that immediately border syria and have an impact. obviously, israel

mr frank says any foreign action could topple assad at this point. a nato type no fly zone massive massive air strikes no i don't think. the regime can be defeated because their air force is being supplied it still has a lot of reserves and i don't i don't see it a measured got nato or a ground invasion i think what we've seen so far of this opposition which is actually splendor and some ways they've got a very steep slope to climb the only reason we have that almost tissue quality was the threats and that could jordan and the political pressure that was put on them they had to do something this weekend do you think the west is going to show up in qatar and arrange a show and no result to know how long it will last we don't know and it's been twenty one months into libya you recall and there are factions still aren't glued together and they had the benefit of the thousand bombing runs by nato so i i think that the other problem is not the groups themselves which are very disparate but the lack of support. now among the syrian people and what they hav

mr. president. the assad regime is engaged in a brutal crack down on its people. france has recognized the opposition coalition. what would it take for the united states to do the same and is there any point at which the united states would consider arming the rebels? >> you know, i was one of the first leaders i think around the world to say assad had to go in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. obviously the situation in syria is deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the international community as well as regional powers to help the opposition. we've committed to hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to help folks inside of syria and outside of syria. we are constantly consulting with the opposition how they can get organized so that they're not splintered and divided in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we are, in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan, that immediately border syria and have an impact and o

mr. president. the assad regime is engaged in a brutal crackdown on its people.rance recognized the opposition coalition. what will it take for the united states to do the the same and is there any point at which the united states would consider arming the rebels? >> i was one of the first leaders around the world to say assad had to go in response to the incredible brutality that his government displays in face of what were initially peaceful protests. obviously the situation in syria has deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the international community as well as regional powers to help the opposition. we committed hundreds of millions in humanitarian aid to help folks inside and outside of syria. we are constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they are not palestinian toward and divide in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we are in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan that immediately border syria and impact israel which is having already grave concerns about, fo

mr. president, the assad regime is engaged in a brutal crackdown on its people. france has recognized the opposition coalition. what would it take for the united states to do the same? and is there any point at which the united states would consider arming the rebels? >> mm-hmm. you know, i was one of first leaders i think around the world to say assad had to go. in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. obviously the situation in syria has deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engaged with the international community as well as regional powers to help the opposition. we have committed to hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to help folks both inside of syria and outside of syria. we are constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they're not splintered and divided in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we are in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan that immediately border syria and have

mr. president, do you condemn the level of violence that president assad has brought against his people?ecause he has been slaughtering tens of thousands of syrians. if, as you say, you are a man of peace and you believe in fundamentally someone's right to protest, this violence has to stop. have you told president assad it has to stop? >> translator: i am stating my opinion quite clearly. i cannot interfere in the internal matters of syria, but i can announce my opinions. and we are seeking an understanding. some have been working hard to supply weapons to the opposition. the government is also equipped to enter this conflict and based on the foundation that some pursue to resolve issues through military intervention, we completely oppose that doctrine and thought and way of doing things. we do believe that things must be resolved through dialogue without any outsiders' interference. many encourage these clashes. many. and even i as a nation or myself as a president, i said to many countries directly that you are encouraging these clashes. that government is an independent government an

mr. president, the assad regime is engaged in a brutal crackdown on its people. france's recognize the opposition coalition. what will it take for the united states to do the same? and is at any point at which the united states would consider arming the rebels? >> you know, i was one of the first leaders i think around the world to say assad had to go. in response to the incredible brutality that his government displayed in the face of what were initially peaceful protests. obviously the situation in syria has deteriorated since then. we have been extensively engage with the international community as well as regional powers to help the opposition. we have committed to hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to help folks both inside of syria and outside of syria. we are constantly consulting with the opposition on how they can get organized so that they are not splintered and divided in the face of the onslaught from the assad regime. we are in very close contact with countries like turkey and jordan that immediately border syria and have an impact,

mr chang very briefly now why do you think the u.s. and its allies are not focusing on peaceful efforts instead pushing those fighting against assad to the forefront of a revamped opposition probably for strategic reasons reasons the united of space would know it could demonstrate its heart of its support for the rest will fall soon as the imposition of the american more will in the middle of years and possibly a pro-american rejean in syria you will be able to further exit of pressure on iran joining our team in law professor joseph chang from hong kong city university thank you. as america's eastern seaboard works to get life back to normal after superstorm sandy so both barack obama and mitt romney resume electioneering in the final days before the vote the damage done by the deadly storm is put at about fifty billion dollars but neither candidate is ready to dip into the massive military budget to help pay for it or not looks at the cost of such policies our military spending has gone up every single year that i've been in office we spend more on our military than the next ten countries combined china russia france you know united ki