and knocked a hole in what saddam's engineers had built? >> alwash: indeed.he last laugh. ( laughs ) >> pelley: it was the beginning of his group called nature iraq, that has developed a plan to restore the marshes. >> alwash: the thing is, it was... it was a small hole. as the water started flowing, it started digging its own passageway. >> pelley: you just had to break it. >> alwash: just... just let the water start going. >> pelley: so, the... the euphrates just pushed its way through there once you broke it? >> alwash: yes. once... once you let the water go in, it just makes its own way. >> pelley: alwash's travels can be dangerous. this is still a war zone. we traveled with a security team lent by the italian ministry of foreign affairs and with a squad of iraqi police. >> alwash: oh, the i.p. is following us. >> pelley: they found us, yes. alwash wasn't sure that just re- flooding the barren earth would resurrect what was lost, but when we traveled deeper into the marshes, we saw what's sprung up since the waters returned in 2003. >> alwash: there. >> p

people think that saddam's regime that there was a large will you let me finish will you that we let me finish please people think wrongly that there's a large kurdish population in baghdad there used to be the faily kurds were expelled from baghdad by saddam's regime if we look at a vote now kurdish parties in and in federal elections it is a minuscule vote it's surprising i'm afraid i'm going to interrupt you i'll let you finish and we come back from the break in this after that short break we'll continue our discussion on the current state with our team. please. please. just so. just so. wealthy british scientists. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cause or for a no holds barred the global financial headlines kaiser reports on. the influence of the folks bringing you the latest in science and technology from around the russian. the future of coverage. welcome back to rostock i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're talking about the fate of the kurds as the u.s. plans its withdrawal from iraq. ok brennan that you know i'd like you to fini

people think that saddam's regime was that there was a large will you let me finish will you that we let me finish please people think wrongly that there's a large kurdish population in baghdad there used to be the faily kurds were expelled from baghdad by saddam's regime if we look at the vote now kurdish parties in and in federal elections it is a minuscule vote surprise and i'm afraid i'm going to interrupt you will let you finish and we come back from the break in this after that short break we'll continue our discussion on the current state with thirty. one. spending the year in iraq is not a true journalist i've seen the waste go of u.s. contractors there's kind of wasting their time trying to get killed three. zero am. or am. i thought all along the length of the stuff to see about five hundred miles of huge history about twenty seven days in new going to publicize the people invited the more significant lead space these people started the space of a dialogue consists of changing the slowly her way to silence him students. say. to me. please. just speak. seemed. a safe. i am c

kurdish people and the arab people i think this is a myth we've had that oppressive regimes like saddam's regime attacking the care dish people but there hasn't been this historic people against people who tensions or or quarters or fights historically in iraq in fact very people a very few people seem to know that there are about ten million kurdish people in baghdad the capital this is more than more cares than cares and the kurdish area that is that is to. say i think i think you it is known some of the no no it is not nonsense to me because the kurdish people live where they care to pull advice and the cards i know i know you would like you would like to divide the iraqi people like you're attempting just now but if you let me finish a lot of care of these people are entitled met it with arabs with total commands and so on and there isn't this rigid ethnic demarcation like you might want to pretend brandon historically the kurdish an arab people. how of a common interests joint struggles against. all right for democracy for freedom so so you have to same time to look at this sammy but

people think that saddam's regime that there was a large will you let me finish will you that we let me finish please people think wrongly that there's a large kurdish population in baghdad there used to be the faily kurds were expelled from baghdad by saddam's regime if we look at both now kurdish parties in and in federal elections it is a miniscule the surprise and i'm afraid i'm going to be in iraq to all make sure we come back from the break in after that short break we'll continue our discussion on the current state with r.t. . if you. think you can. spending the year in iraq is no a true journalist i just saw the waste go in and the u.s. contractors there's kind of wasting their time trying to get kills three. zero am. i thought all along the length of the stuff to be about five hundred muslims a huge stream of twenty seven days in new coins and publicising people invited the monks and i think the pope leads people started the faith of a dialogue says just because a change in the slogan or way to sleep in some instance. on. her. fists . the first step to a. subliminal the for.

are having problems which is a majority harrop province and these these shiftings and planes that saddam did have created those issues that need to be resolved because if cook is returned to the nine hundred fifty eight demography of whatever. unit of cook province at the time was things will change there wouldn't be a majority arab in the province as it is now and therefore things will change unfettered for around them is held in the province of another a totally different i got to sami sami what business what business does the united states and its allies have in mediating this conflict between the kurds or potential conflict when you put it that way between the kurds and the arabs in iraq i mean is it is time for the united states and its allies to get out and let the people on the ground figure out what is best for them because our q patient. genders animosity we've seen that in iraq we've seen that in afghanistan we're seeing it possibly in libya. i think you've hit the nail on the head there most of iraq's problems today i mean eighteen from the continued occupation of iraq and the

and it felt right to get saddam, did it not feel like -- seems like a bad guy, seemed dangerous. feels like take them down. later the facts subverted that good feeling. so what good are the facts? >> in subverting that good

people think that saddam's regime there was a large will you let me finish will you that we let me finish please people think wrongly that there's a large kurdish population in baghdad there used to be the faily kurds were expelled from baghdad by saddam's regime if we look at the vote now kurdish parties in and in federal elections it is a minuscule vote surprising and i'm afraid i'm going to interrupt you we'll let you finish and we come back from the break after that short break we'll continue our discussion on the current state with our team. blaming. the limits or luck to. lead. to the behavior was. playing me. if. it is easy to. be obscene. subsists. the momentum is the latest in science technology from around the russia. we dumped the huge earth covered. start. welcome back to cross talk i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're talking about the fate of the kurds as the u.s. plans its withdrawal from iraq. ok brennan that you know i'd like you to finish up what you were saying before the break here i mean there has been historically a lot of animosity and i'd like you know my degree o

during saddam's time that can be resolved for example the town of. my pool which is a major kurdish town has been he cast from kirkuk and next to crete which is a majority of the in province which is a majority arab province these these shiftings and playings. have created those issues that need to be resolved because if cook is returned to you nineteen fifty eight the model of your being whatever. admission of unit of co cook province at the time was things will change there will then be a majority arab in the province as it is now and therefore things will change if the referendum is held is a. little different i got to sami sami what business what business does the united states and its allies have in mediating this conflict between the kurds or potential conflict when you put it that way between the kurds and the arabs in iraq i mean is it is time for the united states and its allies to get out and let people on the ground figure out what is best for them because occupation. genders animosity we've seen that in iraq we've seen that in afghanistan

saddam hussein had killed half a million of his own people.he has launched a war against iran that resulted in the death of 1 million people. he used poison gas against his own population, against iranians. he had violated 17 u.n. resolutions. he had committed that were. an assassination attempt against an american president. also if you leave the cake commission report coming if i know two things. one, when we went into iraq to do the first word, we found saddam was much closer to achieving nuclear weapons capability than we thought. to, saddam certainly behaved as if he had nuclear weapons and in tv studies did. thirdly, the report concluded that had we not intervene in iraq 2003, saddam had the infrastructure, where inevitably he would've acquired those weapons that they prepends g to take risk and use anything he did on past performance. unfortunately for you in the audience to say this is all in the realm of speculation, we're going to recast these two rival theories. under the obama administration, which is disengaging under multilateral

has created a massive the and it's very naive and simple to assume that just because regime like saddam's regime or any previous regimes have have have. caused destruction and killing of the kurds does not in the minds of the public. give. does not release the general arab population of iraq from those acts to people do not think that the those regimes were. abstract entities that came from the sky and did those i knew most people do believe. that i wrote so ok let's let's let's move forward to the end of this year brandon i'd like to go to you here so you see that there are elements and then within the pentagon and maybe even the white house and in baghdad they would use the excuse of possible tension between arabs and kurds to maintain a an american presence a larger presence than what the americans agreed to a few years ago meaning we can't leave now because will be a civil war. i think it won't be an excuse i think there will be a strong request from the government of the kurdistan region together with some responsible arab politicians in baghdad for there to be a continuing arab and

saddam was doing that all the ti time.all began with his takeover of kuwait >> host: the takeover of kuwait certainly revealed a lawlessness. i heard iraq was governed by torture and physical intimidation and my comments -- i'm certainly not making a brief for saddam but to step a little further, you mentioned the mistakes that followed the invasion of iraq. when i look back one of the most overwhelming things was the sort of naive enthusiasm about democracy and about knocking out all of the pillars of the iraqi state that has been building since 1920. that stated been argued you could argue kidnapped by the baathist party. it had its own character. the universities in iraq were among the best in the arab world. the quality of engineering, of intellectual work, famously, the iraqis were known as the germans of the arab world because they had this fairly rigorous approach. iraq was relatively speaking where women had substantial rights. i covered the war from the ground up and watched this from swe, 2004, 2005 -- what i saw

official, and i can tell you that saddam's iraq was the only topic of conversation. he was stretching the united patients crazy from every direction. but he was just part of the larger dysfunctional situation across the region which there were states, but the regime in the state's was either military dictatorships or monarchies were they were under false pretenses in the parliamentary like system and so governance was really, really bad and in the face of saddam's iraq and also the case in other places in the states in the middle east and they really were both using their state privileges and immunities as part of the international system. they were inside it nominally. and they were working against it when it served our interest and said, was doing that all the time, so this all began with his takeover of kuwait. the takeover certainly signaled lawlessness which was familiar to the president of his own country. iraq was a country governed by torture, by physical intimidation and i really not making a break for saddam hussein but to go a little further, you mentioned

i can tell you that saddam's iraq was just the only topic of conversation. he was describing the united nations as crazy from every direction. but just part of a larger dysfunctional situation across the entire region, which a regime that were coming to the states were either military airships are hereditary monarchies, or they were under false pretenses parliamentary life sentences. so governments was really bad. and in the face of saddam's iraq, and it's also the case in two or three other places in the middle east, they really were wrote. they were both using their state privileges and immunities as part of the international system. they were inside it nominally. and they were working against it when it serves their interests. so it all began with his takeover of kuwait. >> host: it certainly signaled a lawlessness which was familiar to his own country. i have written that iraq was a country governed by torture, physical intimidation. so my comment, i am certain that making a brief for saddam, but pressel for the. you mentioned the mistakes that followed

official, and i can tell you that saddam's iraq was the only topic of conversation.e was driving the united nations crazy from every direction, but he was just part of the larger dysfunctional situation across the entire region which they were state, but the regimes that were governing those states were either military dictatorships or monarchies or they were under false pretenses for the parliamentary-like systems that were just the boss and his voice and so governance was really, really bad, and under saddam's iraq and other cases in the middle east, they really were -- the word was "rogue," and they were both using their state and privileges and immunities as part of the international system and inside when it served their interest, and working against it. islam was doing that all the time. this all began with the takeover the kuwait. >> host: that signaled a lawlessness familiar to the president of his own country. i wrote iraq was a country governed by torture and physical intimidation. to push further, you mentioned the mistakes that followed the invasion of ir

and it felt right to get saddam, did it not feel like -- seems like a bad guy, seemed dangerous. feels like take them down. later the facts subverted that good feeling. so what good are the facts? >> in subverting that good feeling. >> stephen: you want to make me feel bad. >> i want to make you feel bad. >> stephen: really. >> stephen: if you feel that way. i believe in the reality-based community. i mean --. >> stephen: reality is pretty sad. >> stephen: it can be but then we have more need of comedians. >> stephen: you know what f you find a good one, tell me about him. >> where might i look. >> stephen: jon stewart. (laughter) he's really funny. he's really funny. let me ask you, political writing from a decade without a name this past decade, you mean. >> it's a weird decade which in a way begins with 9/11 and i think ends on the fourth of november 2008 when barack obama was elected president. and i think the very different agenda comes because obama's election comes with a financial and economic crisis. and suddenly that whole narrative which is that we're living through th

because of the war, south saddam will start out as one of the poorest nations on the project south sudanl start off as one of the poorest nations on the planet. >> we had no opportunities, the village chief tells me. our children could not go to school, but now things will change. for now, this is where the money is going. in the south, playtimes as much money is spent on the military compared to education -- three times as much is spent on the military. these are the soldiers, the army that fought for so many years against the government. cat all the people with guns day united? -- pat all of the people with guns stay united? >> they declared war in the south. clashes between tribes are common. the border area is rich in oil. just inside the north, the warplanes dropped bombs to crush a rebellion. the two countries will keep fighting. >> we are absolutely committed to peace. our people have suffered for too long. 58 years of war. it is in the interest of the north for the south to be in peace with it. it is essential that we maintain to viable states. >> the struggle for southern indepe

you know it's states held near a curtain as like when saddam obeyed detention camp for five years before releasing him without charge mr quinn as have you ever been given an apology or an explanation by the americans. they did not what's even i don't thing that they are going to apologise for anything you were arrested in pakistan in two thousand and one boy were you there here in germany i saw the group it's called jamaat to be helping. young people who have problems with drugs or homeless people who has problems i thought they always come from pakistan they have their own the world eighteen million members it's i thing they be the biggest group and they are nonpolitical and they are against war of course and they also hate them by taliban because they are against war but. when i went to pakistan i got to the vet school automatically they have each year i guess between thirty and forty. students who was missing that school each year i was just one of them and. so when i was captured and thrown to the americans i was already in about as close to the airport and i had already my pay to ge

he's by saddam hussein a dictator like saddam hussein he's got billions of dollars in cash lying around like we found billions of dollars in cash after we invaded iraq he's got the same thing he's paying he's paying mercenaries he's paying people still to train his troops to proceed on a ruse he's paying mercenaries to fly is airplanes he's got all kinds of cash and he's a survivor and the rebels are going to come nowhere near to defeating his regular forces which are very well trained the regulars the irregulars are the rebels are still just a regular force they want a quick victory nato should have sent his troops to rate the start it would have been or within two weeks all right see the front page on one magazine. international tonight. nato is lying when he says it's a military is to protect civilians that is the claim of independent journalists another view see you something else to think it but we've got his full interview next hour and see this is a brief clip of what he had to say. starting from the moment it was decided to launch this operation the lives of civilians were not t

in the letter to the ship or to saddam did to go and. run the said the colonel was her job as a retreat. the taliban as sounds today more high ranking officials in afghanistan is a naysayer begins to hand they control of the country's provinces so local pulls this facing huge question long say there have been this. is the crisis in rupert murdoch's in the media empire spreads to the british police with the resignation of the country's most senior officer. and security forces prevent i major terrorist attack am moscow by a group of people from the north caucuses. a very warm welcome to you this is a lie from the taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination of the afghan president's senior adviser in the capital kabul along with one of the country's m.p.'s and local security forces say they've already killed the militants who carried out the attack well the murders come at less than a week the hum of hoff brought the who around the south of the country it was. the taliban stepping up its assault on a afghan officials and they t

newspapers is done on page a seventeen the editors you know they go wrong with the headlines of all saddam hussein really dangerous what is he doing with those yellowcake or the uranium or the tubes that cetera but a said he did actually have a great story about how he actually doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction and has nothing to do with saddam hussein so those stories are out there they're just not emphasized and they're certainly not put on television i mean how many investigative reporters are there on the cable news stations not very many why partly because if they investigate the government they might point out something that's damaging and then they'll lose their access to government and probably they'll lose a few profits if they actually have to spend money on saying other investigative team to you so how long do you think it is until audiences actually turn away from cable networks and say i've had enough i want to go elsewhere i want to go to something like the young turks. well i think that moment is already here everybody always talks about how online media is the fu

for more than 20 years, saddam was wracked by civil war. 2 million people died in the fighting betweenthe muslim north and predominantly christian south. the divisions grew out of unresolved tensions after sudan gained independence from britain. in 2005, there was a peace deal that formally ended the war. under international mediationon, the south would hold a referendum on its future. the result was 99% that voted for independence. there are ongoing territorial disputes. the border states are to remain in the north. but there is still local opposition. there is also the disputed region of the oil reserves. south sudanan hasost of the oil fields, but nearly all the reports, refineries, and pipelines are in the north. there have often been outbreaks of fighting. there were renewed clashes. the conflict is a major challenge for the new states. >> we spoke earlier from someone from the german institute for international and security affairs. we began by asking him if the government structures are nctial. >> the state of the administration is similar to infrastructure and that there is vir

becoming an awareness among the leaders of the many of the companies, some of which of their presence of saddam sentences go, that makes perfect sense for executive functions, government relations, and probably some of the work force to be in san francisco. i think we have the perfect opportunity to work on that to the development plan in transbay. i think that the future is bright in that regard. and i think there is, hopefully, going to be a resurgence of the percentage of the work force that does business in san francisco. at one time, it was as high as 30%. i think it is down to 16%. i think with what we have, the wonderful area we have for businesses there that is already being built out, you know, it is appropriate that we be 25% to 30% of the work force in the bay area. the only downside on transit in that regard is, and we're served by barred from many directions and from caltrain, and unfortunately, because marin and never became part of the bart system, it does not go out to in northwestern san francisco in marin, which is an area that has to be analyzed for the future. finally, i gue

saddam had several body doubles. he insisted that his eldest son get a body double. >> jimmy: uday?was a repulsive man. he remember a guy he was at school with that looked slightly like him, so, he pulled him into his office and said, "i want you to become my body double," essentially. this guy said, "no thanks. i don't want to be part of your malicious regime that kill people." and then he threaten his family's life and his life if he didn't. so then he had to go through surgery and become -- essentially become someone who he despised. >> jimmy: like a doppelganger so that -- >> a doppelganger and -- >> jimmy: he could be at two places at once. >> exactly. >> jimmy: you don't know where the uday hussein is. >> yes, so he went into very volatile environments and did speeches on television and went and spoke to the military just so uday could always be safe. it was -- yeah. >> jimmy: but i mean what -- so you play -- you play uday hussein, who is bonkers. i mean, this is like middle easter "scarface," when you see -- it's like -- seriously, this movie is gonna -- this is gonna explod

he did not pursue saddam hussein to try to get rid of him. he stopped in terms of getting saddam hussein out of kuwait, he succeeded in that. he sent a massive buildup of troops to do that, about a half million troops when he did not need that many but he wanted to go in, get it done, do it quickly and then pull out and that was that. and at the time, the idea was, well, we're done with vietnam. we've buried vietnam, we are through with it. and, of course, that was not true. >> rose: here's a man who probably had as much foreign policy experience as anye, having been ambassador, having been at the u.n., having been in china, having been vice president, is cognant of th legacy of vietnam. the haunting legacy of vietnam. >> well, remembe, debbie was just pointing out that h strategy was based on the powell doctrine. >> rose: right. which is based on the weinberger doctrine. >> the weinberger doctrine which emerged as the experience of vietnam. >> rose: right. >> and what george h.w. bush came up with was this idea that powell was absolutely rig