they accepted it so fact the -- cto that saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction because we saye has. there have been indications for instanceore that, for from the u.n. american investigator, arms inspector in iraq, that that was not the case. likein news organizations give very good coverage of the whole issue. when you read some of their pieces, it was much more ambiguous. >> where were you when the whole iraq thing started, starting with in 1991, were you working on the hill? >> i was working on the hill as military legislative assistant to congressman kasich who was on the armed services committee. a pretty busy portfolio. >> and now he is republican governor of ohio. raisee saw that we didn't the money for the war, how did that track on capitol hill? he was the chairman of the budget committee. was there ever demand that we raise the money before we spend it? >> are you talking about 1991? >> the last 20 years of all this and spend after -- all this expenditure. >> at the time, he was not chairman. one little wrinkle that bypassed controversial,ss at least in my view, the

right after that we captured saddam hussein. these events took the wind out of the sails of the very early baathist led insurgency. and my contention was that hadn't reached out to sunnis at this point with the reform of the debaathification degree in some of the political outreach, the could've brought them back in support of a way forward. that period from january to march 2004 was peaceful. of the downturn and security in iraq, but we didn't take advantage of it. instead, we created a transitional administrative law, crafted without a lot of sunni input and, therefore, they resisted it. this period ended with the april 2004 uprising in fallujah and across south-central iraq. uprisings that were in the case of the south-central iraq was put down by the first armored division, the unit of which i was brigade commander. and we don't the army a very significant blow. in fallujah, the marines were on the waiting giving a blow to the insurgents when they were told to stop because the press, the arab press was from against what was

not that he is saddam hussein.t it doesn't mean much to me because he knew one thing, the camera was looking. and that doesn't tell you what happens when guadagno shows up in hoboken and says i talked to the governor last night. he said if you don't play ball in this real estate deal, you're dead. and this kind of reality is what i want to find out. that's the job of reporting. not to meet the person that he wants you to meet. meet the one that is there behind the scenes who is willing to do what is necessary. and is this person so ruthless, you've got to be damn careful of him. your thoughts. >> sure. at the same time, town halls have always been an important part of building our perception about chris christie. the clips you showed us just now initially contributed to perception of him as very much a forthright kind of a tough leader. some people even at the time did use the term bully. but now the town hall that we saw yesterday, and he is going to have another one in the coming week or so, you know, his people

so it wasn't an insurgency of the last remnants of the saddam hussein administration. once we got rid of them, then everything would be okay. president bush and the meeting said don't tell me that there is not an insurgency in iraq because i'm not there yet. and he gets to baghdad in may of 2003 and he talks about iraqi society. so some of this is going to have to take ways in the probably would've been okay. but instead, they decided to go all the way down to the circle on the division level and thereby got rid of not just iraqi government and their advisers but tens of thousands of iraqis because of was the only way to get a decent job. including university professors and civil servants and all the same people that would remain in place in the postwar period and with one swoop of a pen we got rid of them. and they were participating in the political implication of it and they started to, instead of agreeing that saddam hussein was bad and they would help us with the new iraq, i think initially i got that stepping on the ground. and instead we alienated them with one

specific.ges, to be a covers everything from health care to the handling of saddam hussein. is about hillary clinton. she is seen as a front-runner for president. as we get more insight , we look at this. >> hillary expressed a desire to show grace -- showcase her life. says, if hillary is comfortable throwing a big party, we to give a wonderful spread to people magazine, including photos of the honeymoon. it's a just a joint sitdown with barbara walters. it and they talked about having a guest appearance on the old comedy home-improvement. yearere are discussions in that are frank about mrs. clinton's actions and whether they're positive or negative toward the white house. >> some of it had to do with health care reform. the staff lamented, there is great concern that cbo will screw us. >> as stage and presumptuous at wrote, ian adviser might suggest that you consider throwing out all of the staff at the end of the meeting to hold a five minute private meeting with him. -- will showue the the value you place on is confidential advice. least two orbe at three people with spe

iraq and iran moved closer since saddam hussein was removed from power in 2003. >> cricket fans willeep an eye on the asia cup. afghanistan will be, for the first time, facing the home nation, india, pakistan and sri lanka. >> this was a close-run thing for bangladesh. the political virus almost cost them the event. we have had report from the capital. >> a year of chaos left the country struggling. not fear. almost everyone in bangladesh, many of the particulars have strong political views. once they enter the field, they leave it behind. >> when we play cricket, we are is 100% altogether. we forget the politics, this is why cricket is growing in popularity. >> bangladesh is about to host two major tournament. the world cup and the asia cup, which starts soon. the images going around the world last year were disturbing. buses, riots. it put the country's chances of hosting the tournaments at risk. >> the violence has died down. >> we feel excited about seeing bangladesh play, we are here to encourage the country to show pride. >> at the height of political violents, several countrie

because the prevailing view in washington was that there was intelligence supporting the idea that saddam hussein had an active wmd program. there were dissenters inside the government. there were analysts at the cia who thought this is flimsy, flimsy evidence to support that. it's kind of journalists were not listening as closely to them or trying hard enough to find those sources. instead, you know, in a boom effect, we're carrying these baseless stories from other sources. it's a bad moment both for the government and for journalism. >> coming up on "talk to al jazeera," i ask jill what she says to the critics that say "the new york times" is just too liberal. this is the 900 page document we call obama care. and my staff has read the entire thing. can congress say the same? there's more to it. >>> i'm john siegen that willer. welcome to al jazeera. i'm talking to jill abramson. i wake up in the morning, and i reach over to the night table and pick up my iphone and i call up "the new york times" app rather than walk outside and pick up the newspaper itself, which is sitting there, which often

not that he is saddam hussein. but it doesn't mean much to me because he knew one thing, the camera was looking. and that doesn't tell you what happens when guadagno shows up in hoboken and says i talked to the governor last night. he said if you don't play ball in this real estate deal, you're dead. and this kind of reality is what i want to find out. that's the job of reporting. not to meet the person that he wants you to meet. meet the one that is there behind the scenes who is willing to do what is necessary. and is this person so ruthless, you've got to be damn careful of him. your thoughts. >> sure. at the same time, town halls have always been an important part of building our perception about chris christie. the clips you showed us just now initially contributed to perception of him as very much a forthright kind of a tough leader. some people even at the time did use the term bully. but now the town hall that we saw yesterday, and he is going to have another one in the coming week or so, you know, his peop

ayou log saudi arabia to sell saddam hussein american-made weapons. [laughter] but we didn't have to fight that guy for like two more years. [ laughter ] and then again 1 years after that. -- 12 years after that. the point is this: reagan acted no matter what the (bleep) was going to happen. [ laughter ] not like old president sits on his hands content to do nothing but fire hell fire missiles into foreign countries and arm syrian rebels and bomb libya, you know passive stuff. [ laughter ] the point is, while we were dilly dalying, putin got the advantage. i'm sure his man yanukovych was strengthening the grip on authority while loosening his shirt and doing a man boob power transfer. >> president viktor yushchenko fleeing the capital of kiev. >> waiting for may elections. >> jon: wait the putin guy fled? forces of freedom prevailed? i think it's pretty clear what happened here? the ghost of reagan. [ laughter ] haunted yanukovych, told him to leave p boo crane. there's no other explanation. >> two days before he fled an obama administration official

saddam hussein didn't bring down the twin towers." so, the little light went on.nd i began to sort of disenchant myself from the normal group think that tends to take over in any organization. >> group think? at some point in your essay, you talk about how groupthink drives the deep state. >> it absolutely does, just as it tends to drive any bureaucratic organization. >> what do you mean by groupthink? >> well, the psychologist irving janis called it groupthink. it's a kind of assimilation of the views of your superiors and your peers. it's becoming a yes man. and in many respects, it's an unconscious thing. >> yeah, remember what upton sinclair once said "it's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it." >> that is certainly part of it. >> you describe washington as clearly and obviously the headquarters of the deep state. but talk about some of the others who are in the game. >> wall street is, perhaps, the ultimate backstop to the whole operation. because they generate so much money that they can provide s

because the prevailing view in washington was that there was intelligence supporting the idea that saddam hussein had an active wmd program. there were dissenters inside the government. there were analysts at the cia who thought this is flimsy, flimsy evidence to support that. it's kind of journalists were not listening as closely to them or trying hard enough to find those sources. instead, you know, in a boom effect, we're carrying these baseless stories from other sources. it's a bad moment both for the government and for journalism. >> coming up on "talk to al jazeera," i ask jill what she says to the critics that say "the new york times" is just too liberal. >> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >>

because the prevailing view in washington was that there was intelligence supporting the idea that saddam hussein had an active wmd program. there were dissenters inside the government. there were analysts at the cia who thought this is flimsy, flimsy evidence to support that. it's kind of journalists were not listening as closely to them or trying hard enough to find those sources. instead, you know, in a boom effect, we're carrying these baseless stories from other sources. it's a bad moment both for the government and for journalism. >> coming up on "talk to al jazeera," i ask jill what she says to the critics that say "the new york times" is just too liberal. >> fault lines hard hitting... ground breaking... truth seeking... al jazeera america's breakthrough investigative documentary series. >> this is where colombia's war continues... >> decades of violence... familes driven from their land... >> we have to get out of here... >> now the people are fighting back. >> they don't wanna show what's really going on >> fault lines columbia: the fight for land only on al jazeera america al jazeera a

cause of the people who he sent to get saddam hussein's smoking gun, right in? it's a free country. this is his new cause. and the man can say whatever he? it's a free country. this is his new post, and the man can say whatever he wants. "first look" is up next. >> good thursday morning. right now on "first look" bloody street battle. protesters and police go head-to-head in a violent and deadly conflict that has killed dozens. >>> shoe bomb alert. homeland security warns of a potential new security threat from overseas flights coming to america. >>> confederate controversy. george gornl's new confederate battle flag license plates are stirring up plenty of trouble. >>> plus, number one is undefeated no more. also, a multimillionaire minted overnight with the $425 million powerball. >>> one biker takes on the law, and guess who won. >>> it is a fragile truce between government opposition forces in ukraine that turned out to be just that. as new clashes erupted early this morning, gun fear range out around 10:00 a.m. local time in kiev's end pent square sending people running for cov

out qaeda is al-qaeda the guy that that prime minister tony blair and president bush said that saddam hussein had ties to or is it the al qaeda that were in that dangerous or die hard al qaeda or or dangerous islamised so we don't really know where these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read and for what i learn these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue at a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. and as the syrian conflict rages the country's busiest month ling its chemical arsenal in accordance with international agreements a third bunch of toxic material has been shipped out for decommissioning say were recently missed several deadlines to hand over its chemicals saying rebel activity will still blame but damascus maintains it will meet the u.n. by its roadmap to design its toxic i also know why during. coming out this hour it's my just be there right time for some house hunting. break for us it's. a british town puts homes up for sale for just one pound look at what's driving the local council to let

this out qaeda is al-qaeda the guy that prime minister tony blair and president bush said that saddam hussein had toews to or is it the al qaeda that we're in that dangerous or die hard al qaeda or or dangerous islamised so we don't really know who these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read and for what i learn these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue not a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. coming up on r.t. we remember the legacy of internet freedom fighter and the young man of life just over a year ago after facing an intense legal battle against the government congress still deaf to calls to reform its measures of prosecution. sigrid laboratory. was to build a needs most sophisticated robot which i don't think he'd leave doesn't give a darn about anything mission to teach creation why it should care about humans. this is why you should care what you only. speak your language as i mean some of the will or not of the. news programs and documentaries and spanish matters to you. it will turn it in

today that is allocated a guy de facto prime minister tony blair and president bush said that saddam hussein had ties to. or is it the album a doubt that whether it be dangerous for diehard al cater for the ward danger is his mom is. so we don't really know with these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i've read and from what i learn. easy justice barry gangs of murderers and criminals. it's a moral issue not out of military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. and as a searing conviction rate is the country's busy dismantling its chemical arsenal in accordance with international agreements and seven bunch of toxic material has been shipped out for decommissioning. see where this came as several deadlines hands of its chemicals same level since you've lost and dying of damascus maintains will need the yuan by loud knock on food aid is on its books to the subtle point here. thus not supply chains made the right time for some house hunting. great for us as we got to rome. i just held his car was also save just one pound. once when the local council

this out kato is al qaeda the guy that prime minister tony blair and president bush said that saddam hussein had toews to or is it the al qaeda that weren't that dangerous or die hard al qaeda or or dangerous islamized so we don't really know where these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read and for what i learned these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue at a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. coming up on our t.v. remember the legacy of internet freedom fighter aaron swartz the young man with life just over a year ago after facing an intense battle against the government with congress still deaf to calls to reform its measures of prosecution. old. son it's technology innovation all the lives developments from around russia we've got the future covered. dramas the truth be ignored. stories others refuse to notice. faces change the world right now. to picture of today's you know. from around the globe. broke to. the. crutching art international live from moscow charged with espionage and facing dea

yeah i had forgotten about that saddam hussein's combat beef against kuwait was that they were doing a horizontal drilling right to teach golders oil right all right yeah so shady was running a hell of an oliver so there's no doubt and then that to the emir of kuwait because they held their words on a little earlier in pennsylvania where i live. there is the head banks on the call pat he thought yeah we'll see a more soon they're going to be horizontally drilling for water because fracking his destroyed everybody's aquifer and water system follow those stories i know you do the destruction to our our water system is deplorable our aquifer is precious right now you have industry already trying to figure out how they can bottle in-cell water because they know what's happening in this country right now look at california sixty days you have counties in california that won't have water water will become the new oil in there we're going to see a lot of horizontal to report to the next stage to try to get water and that and that by the way seems to be coinciding with global warming and thi

predictions weather about oscar winners or elections or the capture of saddam hussein were much moreredictions made by pundits. i believe it's 51 to 45. and it was banned by the new president's bureaucrats. the commodity futures trading commission says that it is unlicensed and contrary to the public interest is the one they escaped and they were still shut down by american regulators. >> yes. and we have a new structure that doesn't fall within the remittance of the cftc and therefore our new structure will allow us to accept american customer. >> and you're just doing this? >> we are going to begin with sports and there's no reason why we can do a all types of content categories. >> 's already there is fantasy football that has some form of a sports betting. >> instead of a bat we have a contest structure so it's not one person against any other one person. it is a contestant competing against all other contestants and it could also extend to the american idol show were grammy awards are things like that. and the cftc says this is contrary to the public interest. >> it could affect

and so my question my answer to your question is it imagine a world which saddam hussein was there stirring up even more trouble in a part of the world. that so much there's so much. people came and killed three thousand of our citizens oh my god oh my god he just said like ten different things circularly back to remember not all of it this is what's known as a logical fallacy and this is particularly important that people know how to spot when they're looking at politicians on the news or in press conferences that among the many logical fallacies that bush was responsible for was red herring right otherwise known as changing the goalpost we talking about the real reason why we invaded iraq and then he goes full circle and brings about put what about what about not a label to force if we didn't do that and what could have been exactly my argument or something bad is going to happen and i have to say about this up it goes both ways journalist it's also the responsibility of journalists and people to decipher of these lies from politicians and report on them accurately it's not it's a two way

and three after the us led invasion of iraq which has been justified as a move to eliminate saddam hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction. western officials that libby is chemical weapons could fall into the hands of extremist groups just as other weapons that once belonged to the gadhafi regime had made their way to al qaeda linked organizations since the leading indicators overthrow. the destruction of libya's wmd's comes as efforts to eliminate chemical weapons in syria faced delays and logistical problems syria has placed to destroy or transferred stockpiles of poison gas by later this year as part of a deal brokered with russia and lights . with the two thousand fourteen saatchi winter olympics right around the corner critics of russian president vladimir putin have taken to the streets in israel part of the chlorinated worldwide series of demonstrations the protesters are calling for olympic sponsors to speak out against the los i made last year which forbids the so called gay propaganda i think it's about the whole concept in the area as being beyond the bags. the inside i don'

this out kato is al qaeda the guy that prime minister tony blair and president bush said that saddam hussein had toys too or is it the al qaeda that weren't that dangerous or die hard al qaeda or or dangerous islamised so we don't really know who these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read and from what i learn these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue not a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. a third shipment of syria's chemical weapons has syria and is traveling across the mediterranean a russian free go to is helping to is called the toxic material which is being transported on a no we join vessel syria's missed several deadlines on the agreed charger all the destruction of its chemical arsenal with the international watchdog urging damascus to pick up the pace. over a year after his death the mission of the internet freedom fighter are in swartz has not been forgotten a huge online protests called the day were fined by it has been launched using citizens to rise up against the n.s.a. is my surve

out qaeda is al qaeda the guy that that prime minister tony blair and president bush said that saddam hussein had ties to or is it the al qaeda that weren't that dangerous or diehard al qaeda or or dangerous islamicists so we don't really know who these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read in forward i learn these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue not out a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. coming up on r t we remember the legacy of internet freedom fighter aaron swartz. young man took his life just over a year ago after facing an intense legal battle against the government congress still deaf to cost reform its measures of prosecution. i mean likely to see any sort of counter-revolution preserving maybe even a charcoal gender roles the islamic religion is one very powerful force towards maintaining traditional marriages and. just as they become more western liberalism. becomes powerful and we have to sort of. civilization currently on a collision course. but they are feeling that the location o

predictions about oscar winners or elctions or even the capture of saddam hussein.y were much more accurate than predictions made by pundits. and polls. like before the last election, bob beckel was smart to cite the betting. >> first of all, i think that they should stop with the gallup poll. fifty-one to 45, that is the gallup poll the didn't tell it all. john: but it was banned by the new president bureaucrat by the cftc. the commodity futures trading commission. saying that it is unlicensed contrary to the public interest. rather than to try to fight the american government. and ron bernstein plans to start it up again. >> yes, that's right. we still think that there is a need for prediction market. it was still shut down by american regulators. john: you are in new jersey. how are you going to do this in new jersey? >> we have a new structure that doesn't fall within the cftc. erefore our new structure will allow us to accept american customers. john: you are just doing this? >> were going to begin with sports. there's no rson why we can't do all parts of conte

some already saying if they did what he could he could have the same fate as qaddafi or that of saddam hussein what do you think the future holds for assad i think it's highly dubious it's very hard to know at the moment you know there is a civil war much more severe than and as you know. and quite different from iraq so we can really look at those parallels know that there is there has to be a negotiated settlement the idea is to have a transitional government and then maybe assad will not be a candidate in the presidential elections or will resign at some point but the crucial thing really shouldn't be to focus on one man and one personality and oversimplify it there are different forces that work in syria and it's really important to some sort of concession compromises made between all those forces it's much bigger issue much more terrible issue than the fate of one man jordan still a columnist for the guardian newspaper thank you very much indeed for spending some time with us here on r.t. international and thank you for joining us here on the program to stay tuned if you can be very lates

little wrinkle that sort less ed that it was controversial at least in my war insofar e 1991 s saddam hussein had demonstrably in front of the whole world invaded another country. that made it different. the other thing that makes it fiscal point of $60 billion oughly in then year dollars that it mostly raised by jim baker who was the secretary of state. around the world and collected checks from the from the japanese, from other countries that would benefit from getting saddam the oil artery of the world. rom that point of view, financing wasn't a problem. time the second iraq caseic was out of congress, deal with that issue on the house and then the senate budget committees. here was some grumbling from members that for one thing the balled and was low when laurence lindsay of the economic nsel of advisors said it might cost -- i used was amount he he was-eighty billion -- gone. because they didn't want people quoting high figures. well, it's turned out to be a dollars. >> how do you spend a trillion dollars through all 535 members raising the ithout money? where do they put that off money?

iraq a little bit of what we did iniraq iraq -- the one thing we did in iraq not only with saddam hussein. we also had to deal with the baathists. we created a victor and vanquished. because one side thinks sunnis in iraq think that that they can have it all. sunnis in iraq think they can have it all -- i was speaking about serious. that-- syria. that was the biggest mistake of all. >> thank you. yes, please? >> a former white house foreign-policy adviser. i want to ask you about the current israeli-palestinian discussions that are going on, and do you feel optimistic that they will be a final resolution to this debate that has been going on for decades? >> so, um, i am, i'm more optimistic than i have been in a while. and that means i think the chances are 50/50. you know, so that is what optimism really constitutes today. on the one hand, when i was just there last week, i just don't se e how this current leadership on both sides can make the big lift, the huge concessions they have to make in order for a deal to be forged. and on the other hand, i do not see how they do not do it, beca

saddam hussein was recruiting the farmers saying, your children are starving, if you pick up the weapon, we'll feed your family and make sure they get to school. we are fighting them by the hundreds and thousands. >> and you decided you wanted to fight poverty, that that was the way you could make a difference. extreme poverty is people that live on less than $1.25. >> it's not just us, there's a growing movement that extreme poverty is a lack of resources. it's more than that. extreme poverty is a lack of meaning of joyses for basic human rights. we are not the only ones thinking this. there's brilliant minds out there. they are making a strong statement that poverty is about a lack of resources, but it's about the lack of choices. desperate people do desperate families. >> why do you think fighting extreme poverty will lead to victory over terrorism. >> poverty doesn't cause terrorism. extreme poverty, taking away choices, creating desperation fuels the movement. i think if we can take away the desperation, the fuel that grows the movements, that has to be a central component, it will

king hussain - sorry, saddam hussein didn't give a dam. why should he care what the vatican or king thinks about him. but he did care about the russians, when gosho chov said, "let the guys go", we were gone. >> her story. a campus sexual assault survivor on what happened to her, and if the schools are doing enough to keep women safe. plus, big brother. a spy agency collecting webcam imagery from millions of people. ♪ what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. a through the cover this half hour. by the numbers, the government proposes more realistic nutrition labels on food. back on boar

states moved into the region and eliminated its two big rivals, the taliban and afghanistan and saddam hussein. today ironically iran feels vulnerable because it's seeing the rise of al qaeda, the sunni salafis, the potential comeback of the taliban and it shares many common interests with the united states. it's also at a point that it has enough technologically in terms of a weapon that it feels confident in brokering. it's just a matter of saying, whether they have the incentive to develop a weapon, if they wanted to turn around and make it they could. the question is can they be stopped from wanting to do it? i think they actually feel that they are at that turning point. i often say that iranians want to get back into their traditional place in the world. if you want to understand persia nationalism think of your most chauvinistic texan and add 5,000 years and you begin to see it's not just the kind of regional player they want to be, they want to be back on the world stage, the great place it was before. all of this comes together and i think is one of the reasons we're likely to see the