they were even during the saddam hussein times when and saddam to say he was a dictator you know no doubt about that i mean. there's a thousand sampler pieces that have be given anything really lies under saddam hussein can you repeat that was the number of people being killed every month under saddam hussein that's so sure i think you do have to understand the the the loss of life under these regimes was very considerable the loss of life that continues no continues not because the americans went there but because the people who were supporters of those murderous regimes are still trying to do what the americans had hoped they would be able to start to say. that and how do you see any way would be a case for further intervention i think i think one has to be very careful here to give due credit to the united states for its motives you may well say that and this often turns out to be the case we saw this if you like even the second world war where the war that was designed to stop hitler's atrocities ended up causing a lot of atrocities i still feel very uncomfortable over the dropping of

once held saddam hussein and the iraqis with its chemical weapons attacks on iranian troops. ♪ tens ofhousands gathered at the nation's capital this weekend in remembrance of the 1963 march on washington. even though the nation has come a very long way, many feel that the struggle for martin luther king's dream still continues. more on the sights and sounds later in today's show. it's monday, august 26. pam 5 p.m. in washington, d.c. the national security agency was once the most secretive organization in the u.s. now, hardly a day goes by when we don't hear about the nsa's latest scandal. this weekend was no exception. two major headlines ran on the front pages of newspapers around the world this weekend. the first was a revelation that a number of nsa employees were actually using the surveillance program's capabilities to spy on their lovers. or, as they called it, operation love-int. that's according to the chairwoman of the senate intelligence committee diane feinstein. there are about one case per year during the past ten years that we know about. and the people who participated

knew well what saddam was doing according to the report top officials were well aware that saddam planned to use chemical weapons in those particular instances in which the u.s. was providing intelligence for iraqi strikes so i think that any sort of the near of of ignorance about the use of chemical weapons has sort of been dispelled by this report and this certainly isn't the only report that is coming down to our in recent days and weeks last week we learned about the revelation that the u.s. and the cia in particular executed the one hundred fifty three overthrow of iran's democratically elected prime minister so what do these two revelations say about the history of the u.s. and iran and how the u.s. is intervening. the revelation last week that most a deck was toppled in part by the cia this is something else that was it was widely well known it hadn't necessarily been corroborated in the terms that it now has but we had never seen these documents laying out very clearly the u.s. role in what are perceived in iran is two major injustices committed against the iranians now the u.s. h

very close to saddam's family.the eve of the war, he goes to saddam's son and says, do we have this wmd or don't we? i have thousands of guys in the field. they're going to kill my troops. saddam's son laughed and said, we don't have anything. we don't even have chemical weapons. i came in quite skeptical about the whole thing. i thought, probably on the scheme of things they knew maybe there weren't the wmd. when i realized that one of saddam's closest, highest ranked generals himself didn't know, you realized what a confusing time it was and that for politicians who wanted to hear intelligence saying that there were wmd, it was murky enough that the intelligence could lead them in that direction. >> all right. thank you, paul. "america versus iraq" premiers tonight. war fatigue is heavy on the mind. do you think it's america's responsibility to retaliate? destiny gamroth says definitely not, we better not. like us on facebook as we continue to follow the developing situation in syria. >>> up next, how comfortable

once helped saddam hussein and the iraq ease with its chemical weapons attacks on iranian troops we'll dive into that topic in a moment. it's monday august twenty sixth four pm in washington d.c. and lopez and you are watching r t let's get straight to today's top stories the national security agency was one of the most to secretive organizations in the u.s. now a hardly a day goes by when we don't hear about the n.s.a.'s latest scandal this weekend was no exception to major headlines ran on the front pages of newspapers around the world the first was a revelation that a number of n.s.a. employees were actually using the surveillance program capabilities to spy on their lovers or as they called it operation love i n t that's according to the chairwoman of the senate intelligence community committee dianne feinstein there are also about one thousand cases that this was actually happening that we know about and people who participated were reportedly disciplined. the second major revelation to come out this week the german publication der spiegel reports that the n.s.a. managed to crack

support for saddam hussein continue even after he used chemical weapons?oice but to weaken the ayatollah and the extremist iranian regime at the time but it was a pretty regrettable way to carry out the policy. >> we contacted foreign policy magazine for a response to the claim that rick was misquoted saying u.s. officials new beforehand saddam hussein sbaended to use the chemical weapons in the 1988 battles but a senior editor said they stand by the accuracy of their reporting and says they have documentation saying u.s. officials knew before the battles previously that saddam hussein had previously used chemical weapons and, therefore, had the will to use them again. wolf? >> that's a little different than what apparently is in the article. everybody knew he had chemical weapons but did the united states know specifically that saddam hussein was going to eyes chemical weapons against the iranians or the kurds? >> this gentlemen, rick francona said he's misquoted when foreign policy said he said americans knew before the battle saddam was using the weapon

investigation that was underway saddam hussein and his regime are busy doing. we possibly can to ensure that instructors. finding absolutely nothing. well they found nothing because there was nothing but it was an argument that couldn't be heard through the deafening sound of war drums iraq is not the only example when the u.s. effectively rendered a diplomatic solution obsolete with serbian leaders on the other hand refused even to discuss key elements of the peace agreement before the us started a two month long bombing campaign of the former yugoslavia the us love government had accepted proposals for the near independence of cost of all within the republic of serbia as well as an international peacekeeping force in kosovo but the agreement that nato put forward had a clause that they could not accept in the words of former secretary of state henry kissinger the text which called on serbia to admit need to troops throughout yugoslavia was a provocation an excuse to start bombing runway is not a document that an angelic could have accepted years later we see

it was brought down in the name of democracy and ten years after the fall of saddam or do we see in iraq destruction wars bombs bloodshed and democracy. fighting over your day to day bread people and secured goods being great and this was never that happened in the time of saddam i'm not saying that saddam was a good one but i say what is the alternative we are making wars and revolutions we don't we're not thinking about the consequences what is the solution what what can we put instead of morsi and more but all these tyrants because it all the same for me as a human being then all the same they're all exercising the same power what i'm saying is if we don't put the system in place we are looking for a long term out of revolutions in the middle east that will never quiet in the end the country it would be another would be another iraq. the next one is syria so we're just creating. terrorism as we go along down the way in the name of democracy so you think this could that just took place in egypt could actually spill over if the region i think it's one off and i think it's not going to b

i'm not saying that saddam was a good. one but i say what is the alternative we're making wars and revolutions we don't we're not thinking about the consequences what is the solution what what can we put instead of morsi and more but all these tyrants because it all the same for me as a human being that all the same they're all exercising the same power what i'm saying is if we don't put the system in place we are looking for a long term out of revolutions in the middle east that will never quiet in the in the country it would be another it would be another iraq. the next one is syria so we're just creating. terrorism as we go along down the way in the name of democracy so you think this could that just took place in egypt could actually spill over the region i think it's one off and i think it's not it's not going to be the end in egypt. it's going to spill over the whole the whole. the whole region and it's not only the whole region and it's the whole globe that is undergoing a shift and economy europe spain greece the s

i want to play something from avenue saddam hussein was first captured from you. >> the acapture of saddam is a good thing, which i hope very much will keep our soldiers in iraq and around the world safer, but the capture of saddam has not made america safer. >> when you said that on the campaign trail back in the 2004 presidential campaign, governor, that was, as you know, a huge controversy with people saying that even the suggestion that that military objective didn't make us safer was a gaffe, made you unfit to be president. i don't have to remind you because i think you remember. but it seems to me that at lesser levels, we hear similar types of arguments over the facts of the surveillance. for example, debating whether it works suddenly becomes a vote for less safety. speak to that. >> i think you can't con flat the two things. first of all, the people who were putting up the outrage and gaffe were running against me for the presidency of the united states on the democratic side. second of all, saddam -- iraq never was a threat to the united states in the first place. how could the c

approval washington presented false evidence and went on with the mission to remove saddam hussein from power nearly two hundred thousand iraqis died as a result of that intervention millions lost their homes and two hundred thousand is a modest estimate iraqis continue to die in terror attacks every day and most recently in the nato went beyond its un mandate and affectively carried out a regime change what was called the humanitarian intervention resulted in a nation engulfed in chaos and terror. those are the precedents that washington has to look back to when considering an action in syria in washington i'm going to take them. r.t. talked to hans blix who headed the un's weapon inspection team to iraq before entering the two thousand and three us led invasion he says western media and now planning pressure on the governments to take action in syria i think that the public opinion and the media in the west will be pressuring the their governments to do something they say that this is some horrible thing that must be a punishment must the action you cannot sit with your hands just fol

critics point to america's own toxic pasta from agent orange in vietnam to ca support for saddam's chemical aggression coming up we examine we shifting sands of me was foreign policy. and the victim of child abuse in england who speaks out as sex offenders are taken off the police watch list aimed at safeguarding communities from predators. i. am. it's ten am here in the russian capital you're live with us on r t it's good to have your company with us skepticism and opposition for should be delaying u.s. and british plans to attack syria but according to the country's leaders the proposed bombing campaign will still go ahead the aim according to barack obama is to send a warning to asada reportedly by striking his key military assets right now this map shows you the air fields that are used by syrian jets which rebels at. a decisive role in the war there's a speculation that they will bear the brunt of the attack with cruise missiles targeting warplanes and runways as far as for who will be doing the shooting u.s. air bases are located to the north as well as the south while american destro

led liberation from saddam hussein. multiculturalism fails a stress test in the u.k. with an anti muslim wabi blocking the expansion of islam calling it a violent and incompatible with today's britain. the search coming to life from the russian capital i'm marina joshie welcome to the program now the u.n. arab league envoy to syria. says there's evidence suggesting that some kind of chemical substance was used in an attack near damascus a week ago but that there is no proof that the us a government is responsible such an assault in itself could be enough for the u.s. and its allies to launch a military offensive against the war torn country despite warnings from russia and the u.n. sean thomas reports block starboard yumi who is the u.n. envoy and the arab league envoy on that the situation in syria spoke in geneva on wednesday saying that any military action in the world should be carried out only with the u.n. security council's sanction as stood. related by international law very clear and direct in his message he did say that evidence suggests that some chemical s

been adamant that they will continue because it's an as i said it's an issue of sovereignty when saddam hussein invaded iran and western countries again sorry but pathologically producer provided saddam hussein with chemical weapons to gas iranians killing many thousands even people are dying as we speak i'm a victim of chemical weapons the iranians defended their country and prevented saddam hussein from taking any part of the country because it was an issue of sovereignty western countries have to come to some sort of agreement with iran and in fact in the talks that just took place recently the iranians were willing to make significant strides forward to reach some sort of agreement either a step by step agreement or otherwise and western countries the five plus one people who were there simply did not have the authority and they said we have to go back and speak to our governments so and iran has been waiting for weeks right now so when the iranians go to the negotiating table they go there with authority and western countries their representatives don't have that authority. to repl

led liberation from saddam hussein. and. his fails a stress test in the united kingdom with an anti muslim lobby blocking the expansion of islam calling it violent and incompatible with today's britain. very good evening my name is kevin irwin this is our t.v. our top story then the u.n. arab league envoy to syria lakhdar brahimi says there's evidence suggesting that some kind of chemical substance was issued in an attack near damascus a week ago but there's no proof at this point that the assad government is responsible but such an assault in itself could be enough for the u.s. and its allies to launch a military offensive against the war torn country despite the u.n. in syria saying the inspectors need more time to go to the site ok let's check out what the latest is now in washington our correspondent john h. you can is there a lot of high level talks today would have. been of those high level talks. i'm sorry kevin the u.s. and its allies are in a rush to act they're ready to start bombing syria even as the u.n. secretar

critics pointed to america's own toxic apostle from agent orange in vietnam to cia support to saddam's chemical aggression coming up we examine the shifting sands of u.s. foreign policy. and a victim of child abuse in england to see speaks out as sex offenders taken off a police watch list aimed at safeguarding communities from predators. is just going past one pm here in the russian capital you live with us on our t.v. with me. skepticism and opposition after all should be delaying u.s. and british plans to attack syria both countries leaders have been strongly pushing the case for bombing campaign the aim according to president obama is to send a warning to us he blames for carrying out a deadly chemical attack last week that's likely to mean strikes on key syrian military assets now this map. shows you the airfields that are used by syrian jets which rebels and the west say are playing a decisive role in the war speculation that they will bear the brunt of the attack with cruise missiles targeting warplanes as well as runways as for who will be doing the shooting u.s. air bases are

critics point to america's own toxic pods or from agent orange in vietnam to cia support for the saddam's chemical aggression coming up we'll examine the shifting sands of u.s. foreign policy. and the victim of child abuse in england speaks out as sex offenders are taken off the police watch list aimed at safeguarding communities from predators. it's just gone past nine am here in the russian capital you're live with us on our t.v. with me. the u.s. president has set a potential bombing campaign against syria would be merely aimed at sending a shot across the bow to deter the use of chemical weapons now barack obama however has yet to decide whether to give the go ahead to the american forces that have converged around the syrian coastline measure reaction would be unlikely to get the approval of the u.n. security council with russia and china strongly against artie's grandchild you can experience why. the main question is will president obama order an attack on syria despite the u.n. calls to hold fire to wait for the results of the u.n. investigation and as the u.n. secretary general sa

i am talking about saddam hussein a decade ago. now and then concerns bat dictator turned devil, terrorizing a region? what's the difference in the mainstream media pushing the president to act because it's the right thing to do. same mainstream media at the behind of trouble in iraq argued it was the wrong thing to do. back then we had not given the u.n. enough time. now the u.n. is not worth the time? brent, what has changed sneer -- changed sneer. >> it isn't the people reporting the news. it's the world view. it's the president that has changed. it's a remarkable turn of events. it's deja vu all over again except the media are reporting it in the exact opposite way. they saw how saddam hussein as something that didn't merit american intervention. in fact saddam hussein had innovated kuwait and was saber rattling. in the case of assad, as horrific as this is, assad has not invaded anybody. he has not threatened american interests directly and no one is asking the question, what are we going to accomplish by this? what is the end

pointed to america's own toxic paused from our agent orange in riyadh mamadou cia supporter for saddam's chemical aggression coming up we'll report on the contras saying faces of u.s. foreign policy. and a victim of child abuse in a linda speaks out as sex offenders are taken off please watch list aimed at safeguarding communities from predators. live from moscow you're watching artsy with me to by monday it's good to have you with us this morning. the u.s. president has set a potential bombing campaign against syria would be really aimed at sending a shot across the bow to chair the use of chemical weapons barack obama however has yet to decide whether to give the go ahead to the american forces that have conversion around the syrian coastline any military action may be without approval from the u.n. secretary security council with russia and china voicing their firm opposition parties then as you can explains why. the main question is will president obama order an attack on syria despite the u.n. calls to hold fire to wait for the results of the u.n. investigation and as the u.n. secre

gaddafi did not want to have happen to him what happened to saddam hussein. when we went after gaddafi, we went after khan. he went into the black market operation himself and was selling nuclear weapons technology to the libyans. they were his best customer. to the iraqis, north koreans, and we shut down khan's black market operation. we took out three major sources of proliferation. that in and of itself is reason enough for what we did to saddam hussein in iraq. the threat has not gone away. you may remember it was discovered in the spring of 2007 that a few months after north korea set off their first nuclear test that the north koreans had built a nuclear reactor a couple of producing plutonium in the eastern syrian desert. syria's a mess today. imagine what would have happened if the israelis had not taken out that nuclear reactor. we also found from khan that pakistani officials were bribed for the latest technology for enriching uranium. we know from a scientist who has seen it that the north koreans now have 2000 centrifuges operating to produce enha

during the saddam era, he was a sample, and now, it's worse. >> a u.s.led coalition invaded more than 10 years ago bringing down the regime of saddam hussein. foreign troops remain in the country or years, finally withdrawing jus year and a half ago, and since then, the attacks have increased. it's the kind of violence that bashar fled from. now the only contact he has with his family takes place over facebook. he is too worried about the safety of his relatives to reveal their names. >> there's no outside force that will ever build iraq. we have to do that. >> he does not want to give up hope of change, and he does his part through his music. >> to football news now where the wait is over. this season's champions league draw has taken place, and it turned out to go relatively kindly for germany. group d pits the defending champions against moscow and manchester city. meanwhile, schalke is in group e along with chelsea and bucharest. group f could be a bit of a bruiser. >> there is another big decision from ua for. >> the buyer -- bayern munich winger be

it looks like saddam hussein did in iraq to the kurds. let's remember, enter the iranians when there's a civil war between iran and iraq, saddam hussein used chemical weapons and these are similar image to what we see coming from iraq from the kurdish area and from the iranian area. >> this is the incident in 1980 in which saddam hussein used chemical agents against the kurds. >> exactly. now, you know, he's gaining in the battlefield he's gaining ground. >> assad? >> sorry, assad. and his allies in the region are helping him. iran, hezbollah, and he's looking at egypt and he's thinking, you know what, they toppled the president. we had islamists winning. it didn't succeed and now back to the old regime. even mubarak is coming by. >> you think assad is making the calculation he looks at the regional picture saying actually this arab spring, this wave of revolution, we're now seeing retrenchment, i can hold on to this. i can stick this out. >> exactly. also he sees confusion by the west. we weren't able to call a coup a real coup for days

and much broader by sated sat saddam hussein. i feel motor people but my caring is the peace and prosperity to the united states. i don't see a threat that merits the use of military force. >> tom, the president and the white house and other agencies have essentially leaked the details of what we are about to do. you know, the source and weapons and duration and the purpose, and one can argue that the president here has drawn this out and dithered as some call it. has that dithering allowed assad to move the military assets avoid consequences. >> there are reports to that affect, gregg. let me go back to congress. it is important. if obama does decide to go to congress. it is a place, speaking to staffers on the hill just today about this, over the last five years, president obama, his relationship with congress is not great and there is not a resvorof good will. if he goes that route it is a moment of need and if he decides not to go to congress that is perilous politically. he is in a tough spot. >> ralph, secretary kerry said

our neighbors are much better off now that saddam is gone. --write these are forever iraqis are forevergrateful to the sacrifices that americans have made in time, treasure, and of in blood. iraqis of course have endured even greater losses. and as the recent attacks of terrorism have reminded us -- our ordeal is not over. --e iraqi and our government the iraqi people and our governmentintend to redeem these losses by building a future worthy of our sacrifices. after decades of dictatorship, three disastrous wars, international isolation, economic sanctions, the displacement of more than one million iraq is, and the deaths -- one million iraqis and the deathsof tens of thousands more, including the latest victims of terrorism, iraq is in blocking is embarking on building its democratic future in building bridges within our society and with our neighbors. as iraqis, as we rebuild our country, the united states will benefit by building a long-term partnership together. we can and must develop what president obama has described and i quote "as a

saddam hussein and mubaraks. that was another misreading of the arab war by the bush decision that we are stopping. host: michael hearst, chief course on it for the "national journal." thank you for your time. not only will congress has to do with the issue of syria when it comes back into session, but it would have to deal with issues of the economy and the budget and particularly the debt ceiling. if i debt is looming according to house speaker john boehner. up next, we will talk about what is next for congress because to issues of the economy with damien colletti of the -- damien paletta of the "wall street journal," all of this as "washington journal" continues. ♪ >> one of the most fun times i ever had was it was 2006, and it looked like democrats really were going to take over the house. it was looking pretty bad for republicans. 'sd vice president cheney office called and wanted to know if robert and i could come over and have breakfast with them, so we went over to the vice president for the residents and

looks at the ongoing price of the us led liberation from saddam hussein. and multiculturalism fails a stress test in the united kingdom with an anti muslim lobby blocking the expansion of islam calling it violent and incompatible with today's britain. which has joined us is kevin owen here this hour with our top story then the un arab league envoy to syria lakhdar brahimi says there is evidence suggesting that some kind of chemical substance was used in an attack near damascus a week ago but that there is no proof at this point that the assad government was responsible but such an assault in itself could be enough for the u.s. and its allies to launch a military offensive against the war torn country despite the u.n. and syria saying the inspectors need more time at the site let's go live to washington d.c. our correspondent gun if she comes there. several international meetings and consultations obviously about syria today where does the world stand tonight as we know it. well kevin we heard the syrian envoy to the u.n. who said the threats to use militar

and critics point to america's own toxic past from agent orange in viet nam to cia support for saddam's chemical aggression coming up in the shifting sands of u.s. foreign policy. and. a victim of child abuse in england speaks out as sex offenders are taken off a police watch list aimed at safeguarding communities from predators.