or it's how we treat iran versus saudi arabia or naming you know how we treat pakistan the government we like a bit of a government we don't like and the list goes on and on but we do it countless number of revolutions that we have for certain latin america depending on our interests it's just the american people are unfortunately it's not their fault they just they have been told there are enormously ignorant about what or real foreign policy it yeah well you know the other thing is i hope americans can at least realize what's going on within the country for going to talk about hypocrisy this is something that i have a feeling you might agree with me on you know recently that new rolling stone article with president obama came out where he said that it was irresponsible of those democrats that right now are you know less than enthused about going out and voting it's so irresponsible of them to sit on their hands if they really want to continue having civil rights and civil liberties in this country i mean this is this is the guy that now has put u.s. citizens on an assassination list

now america plans to sell some sixty billion dollars worth of weapons to saudi arabia in what's seen as one of the largest arms deals in u.s. history congress has yet to approve the deal put forward by the obama administration the saudis want new fighter jets attack helicopters as well as upgrades for its existing aircraft the c. a would also include a wide range of bombs and missiles saudi arabia is one of the united states biggest oil suppliers and washington hopes the deal will improve the defenses of the gulf state but liberty campaigner david key says saudi arabia is an unlikely there for a country that claims to defend human rights. in a classic dictatorial fashion the saudi regime does not rely on the consent of its people to be governed and therefore need all the arms that it can acquire simply to maintain its presence in the region and there has been unfortunately a lack of concern for human rights in saudi arabia there are elements within the u.s. government that believe that the leadership is moderate and therefore it is an ally of the united states i believe that the saudi

it cast doubts in the minds of americans out saudi arabia.n unleased a tremendously critical and -- portrayal of saudi arabia ithe united states and the rest of the world. v in the kingdome dealt with this issue. we examine the thread that we faced. we confronted its head on and we came out of this experience, we mning the united states and it saudi arabia, in a much healthier and stronger relationship then we were before these events. today when i look at our relationshipi'd like to quote as i always do but that doesn't mean that i agree with the political philosophy about ronald reagan, he used to say that facts are stubborn things and wh we look at the facts of the relationship between ou two countries today versus where they were even as recently as 10 years ago, i think the numbers are staggering. today as we speak we have over 30,000 students, saudi students studying at american student colleges and this is an all-time number, we'veever had that many standing in the united states. they will come back and they will, the advocates of the

senate is to consider a sixty billion dollars arms deal with saudi arabia and if it goes ahead it will be one of the largest arms sales in u.s. history of congress also has a month to raise any objections these saudis want new fifteen fighter planes nearly two hundred apache blackhawk helicopters as well as upgrades for existing aircraft and this sale would also include a satellite guided smart bomb system and defense miss ell's and for a look into the deal with joined by david keyes who is director of cyber didn't start org mr keys thank you very much for your time so this is a record breaking deal isn't it but why do these need all these arms. indeed it is considered the largest arms deal in american history and the reason that the saudis want the arms is first and foremost to protect itself from increasing iranian influence in the middle east power that's becoming increasingly important in the region they also want the arms because in a classic dictatorial fashion the saudi regime does not rely on the consent of its people to be governed and therefore needed all the arms that it can

interest between israel and saudi arabia? >> yes, up to a point. with the saudis are afraid of, again, it's not nuclear iran, it's iran interfering in their ethnic disputes. the saudis have a substantial shiite minority that lives in the oil region. they don't want iran stirring that up. similarly, in other gulf states, like bahrain. again, bahrain has a shiite majority, there are shiite minorities, that's what the region is afraid of, and also of iran's meddling in the gulf and being too much of a heavy-weight there. so, on the one hand, saudi arabia feels a common interest, but i do not believe that extends to wanting israel to bomb iran, because attacking iran just opens up all kinds of unseen negative possibilities. not just that they would mine the straits, which would send oil prices up. maybe the saudis wouldn't mind that. but again, it raises the question of iran going to meddling mode full-blown, and causing unrest throughout the gulf states and in the rest of the region. i think they're more afraid of that than they

its presence in the region there has been unfortunately a lack of concern for human rights in saudi arabia there are elements within the u.s. government that believe that the leadership is moderate and therefore it is an ally of the united states i believe that the saudi regime is in fact quite extremist in its beliefs and in its policies saudi arabia is a country which. prevents women from leaving the their home country without being accompanied by a male. or guardian it is a country which bans the walking of pet cats and dogs in public there is gender apartheid it bans women from driving and i think a lot more can be done to increase. concern and pressure for improvements in saudi human rights. and american support for the saudi regime is a flashpoint in the late edition of crosstalk people avails guess grapple with that whether rand soft power is driving its influence in the region. and house except reality in that in iran you have elections mr ahmadinejad for various reasons is because very popular just a couple of days ago when he went to the city store. and you know he stole the elec

it will be saudi arabia. d> you are watching "bbc worls news." a skydiver murders her love rival by cutting the courts of her parachute. prenuptial contracts where couples agree how they divide their assets if they split up are commonplace in many countries, but they have no legal standing in the u.k. after a landmark ruling, a german woman has won a legal battle against her former husband. >> this german heiress emerges from court today victorious after a legal battle with her former husband. the judge ruled a prenuptial agreement both assigned was fair. >> she and her ex-husband have promised each other that if anything went wrong between them they would not make financial claims against each other. it was meant to be a marriage for love, not for money. >> she is worth an estimated 100 million pounds and married nicholas in 1998. the couple lived in london. when they separated, he worked at the university on a fraction of his former salary. the supreme court upheld a ruling reducing his divorce settlement to below 5 million pounds. the ruling s

the obama administration wants to sell sixty billion dollars worth of weapons to saudi arabia congress has yet to approve what would be one of the largest arms deals in u.s. history it will include jets attack helicopters as well as upgrades for its existing aircraft the saudis also want a wide range of bombs and missiles washington hopes the jewel them for the defenses of saudi arabia which is one of the us is biggest oil suppliers liberty campaigner david kay says it's not unlikely partnership because of the gulf states catching human rights record. and a classic dictatorial fashion the saudi regime does not rely on the consent of its people to be governed and therefore needs all the arms that it can acquire simply to maintain its presence in the region there has been unfortunately a lack of concern for human rights in saudi arabia there are elements within the us government that believe that the leadership is moderate and therefore it is an ally of the united states i believe that the saudi regime is in fact quite extremist in its beliefs and its policies saudi arabia is a country w

presence in the region and there has been unfortunately a lack of concern for human rights in saudi arabia there are elements within the us government that believe that the leadership is moderate and therefore it is an ally of the united states i believe that the saudi regime to. quite extremist in its beliefs and its policies saudi arabia is a country which. prevents women from leaving the their home country without being accompanied by a male. or guardian it is a country which bans the walking of pet cats and dogs in public there is gender apartheid it bans women from driving and i think a lot more can be done to increase american concern and pressure for improvements in saudi human rights of others inside those big neutralizing a special operation of the russian republic of couple of. policemen to found a truck with explosives never mind where the government to trap examine the could shove it in the region for us. at least ten militants assume in the abandoned mine uncovered in iraq are the counterterrorist operation which started on wednesday is underway through militants have been kil

observers say the move is aimed at helping saudi arabia contain the growing military power of iran in the middle east. iran continues to pursue its nuclear program. it test-fired an advanced ballistic missile last december. >> this proposed sale has tremendous significance from a strategic regional perspective. and it will enhance saudi arabia's ability to deter and defend against threats to its borders and its oil infrastructure, which is critical to our economic interests. >> shapiro said the u.s. government has already consulted israel on the deal and that there were no objections. israel has long been opposed to arms sales to saudi arabia, saying it would tip the military balance in the region. >>> afghanistan's election commission has revealed the extent of alleged fraud in last month's national vote. it says about a quarter of the ballots cast in the parliamentary election were invalid because of irregularities. the election commission received preliminary results of the vote count on wednesday. 249 seats were at stake in the september 18th lower house election. the commission s

we're going to look into the obama administration's proposed sixty billion dollar arms deal with saudi arabia now islamophobia is all the rage in the u.s. these days turning mosques into terror centers and islamic garb into terrorists gear so where is the right wing outraged over this biggest arms sale ever to a muslim country then we're going to be talking about the war but not iraq or afghanistan no this is a currency war and of course into farm experts it is raging in the u.s. and across the world right now as the u.s. tries to fix its economy by adjusting the value of the dollar other countries have used inflation to up their currency but is going to pose a serious problem for the u.s. we're going to speak with r.t. financial correspondent lauren lister and one condom of the youngest and most western detainee takes the deal even guilty to war crimes in exchange for serving serving out the rest of his sentence in canada but when does a child stop being a child and become a victim and what is a child a war criminal or we're going to debate that issue in just a moment and does the u.s. have

there will be different customers within saudi arabia for different of these arms sales. in terms of where these arms are going to be -- i am not fully sure i understand the question. >> the nature of the saudi regime in 20 or 30 years, the biggest arms sales, i believe, in u.s. history to an autocratic country like saudi arabia, does that give you any pause? >> when we conduct an arms sale, we go through an extensive analysis of what impact will it will have on the region, its potential impact and its actual impact. we're comfortable that this sale will serve to enhance u.s. national security. >> can you give any details about what sort of weapons packages will be on the new f- 15's, whether it includes the standoff systems that israel saw as its red line? >> the full systems will be on the dsca press release that is going on the web and which we are distributing. all i will say is we do not anticipate that there will be any -- as ambassador vershbow said, we do not anticipate objections from the israelis, but at the same time, our own investments -- our own assessment an

and i think it's been fair to say we've been very successful with respect to saudi arabia especially over the lastouple years. >> rose: if you go to the saudis, to the royal family and king abdullah head of the interior minister and the rest of them and say "here is the evidence that money by one of your citizens, one of your... maybe somebody you know well is getting in the hands of al qaeda" are they responsive in your experience and do they act on it to shut it down? >> yes. and i think that's something we have worked on very, very hard over the last few years and i don't say that lately but we have developed a good relationship when it comes to al qaeda. not just on the operational side which we had for a number of years. for a number of years the situation was that that they were working very hard on the prevention of attacks and they view viewed potential attacks in saudi arabia which is one of the major targets of kaeltd and they attempted an assassination... you talk about the interior minister, they talked about the assassination of mohammed binnai in charge of counterterrori

because saudi arabia cracked down on al qaeda. the government in yemen is relatively week. there are tribes there against the government that al qaeda has been able to find space to develop not only the underpants bombs used at christmas but a new type of device that's being shipped around the world by these freight carriers. there's clearly al qaeda there feels that it has the space to develop these particular weapons and experiment with them in the way that we're seeing right now, larry. >> larry: nic robertson, our cnn senior international correspondent. when we come back, we'll talk to the first person ever to head the department of homeland security, former governor of pennsylvania tom ridge next. she felt lost... until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. >> larry: it's a pleasure to welcome tom ridge to "larry

the fact that the tip came from saudi arabia is significant because saudi arabia is home base to some senior members of al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula. a terrorist organization with a known able to make bombs. >> thank you. >>> also today the tsa announced a major change in airport security screenings. agents will now use what is being called a hand slide method. includes more open touching. that's for passengers who opt out of a body scan or who set off the metal detect or. screeners for the hand slide method will be matched to the passenger's gender. the tsa says this change was planned before today's terror scare. >>> headlines from around the bay area now. another major phase of the new bay bridge is finished. cal-trans put up the second tier of the signature tower around 4:30 p.m. this afternoon. that tower now rises 10 stories above the bridge at eye level for the upper deck traffic. the third and final parts of the tower will be up by next spring. >> one, two, three. >> all right. >> there we go. >>> b.a.r.t breaks ground on an extension. the e b.a.r.t trains will be better

saudi arabia is in the middle east a very dangerous neighborhood.oes it face growing threat from iran but there's a simmering civil war in yemen to its south which could spill over its borders. >> is there any chance in your mind, james, that we might come to regret this decision? if you look what happened in a couple places in iraq. the u.s. sold biological weapons to iraq in the '80s. later invading the country looking to eradicate that program that it did fund. talk about the concerns of something like that happening or is that out of the realm of possibility? >> first of all, i should say the u.s. never sold biological weapons to iraq. in fact, the u.s. did tilt towards iraq in tieren/iraq war. >> but that was for medical research. okay. weapons may be the extreme word. but there was for biological research, there was activity sold there. >> yeah. unfortunately, scientific establishment did sell some variants of anthrax to iraqi medical researchers who said they needed it for prophylactic research purposes. but that was not known to be activated

he tried to claim diplomatic immunity. >> if this case had been in saudi arabia they would not have this exposure. it would have been dealt with behind closed doors. >> the man who exploited his privilege with deadly consequences now faces life behind bars. he will be sentenced tomorrow. >> farm subsidies will up more than 40% of the european union budget, and now the economic downturn in europe means they've been -- they may be next to be squeezed. >> this is the story of two farmers and a single agricultural policy. they say the subsidies are wasteful, opaque, and unfair. farmers say without them they would not be able to survive. >> we are approximately 800 feet above sea level. >> the sheep farmer raises in the south of england. he has done everything he can to reduce costs, but why should taxpayers subsidize firms like this. >> i do not have a clue. i am a simple sheep farmer. we subsidize most things. the motor industry. we are subsidizing the banks. the banks were just bailed out, so it is a question of values. >> it has been called a waste of money and the best policy. now it is

get lucky this time again. >> reporter: well, the al qaeda group in yemen, their prime target is saudi arabia and the saudi royal family. so, the saudis have a real incentive to keep their eyes on this group. >> so, brian, one of the pack e packages was cleared through london. how can that be? >> reporter: well, this material is hard to detect. a metal detector won't pick it up. and this was a kind of ingenius scheme, taking apart a printer and turning that into a bomb, putting it back in the printer and shipping it as if it would go right through security and it did. it was only the tip that they received that allowed the u.s. to stop these packages with the help of the british and the germans. >> hard to screen for. now, the u.s. is in afghanistan fighting al qaeda. but given what richard clarke says about the number of al qaeda in yemen, is yemen next? >> reporter: well, yemen is certainly next. there are five or six times as many al qaeda fighters in yemen as there might be in afghanistan. the problem with al qaeda is it has morphed, there are franchises in yemen, in northern africa, in l

and the white house has acknowledged the original intelligence information came from saudi arabia, brian. >> pete, devil's advocate here. a whole lot of people watching tonight may wonder why the evidence here doesn't white match the words being used, even by some of our public officials. it may not add up. when is someone going to explain how these toner cartridges equal a threat to national security? >> reporter: what i'm told, brian, is what was sent in these packages is the entire laser printer. that was what was sent to these two addresses. but it was the toner cartridge inside the printer that had been tampered with. we still don't yet know how much explosive material was in there or how they were supposed to work. we believe it was the explosive material walled petn that was in the shoe of richard reid and the underwear bomber that came to detroit on christmas day. we still don't know the mechanism, how these were supposed to work, when they were supposed to go off. those are big questions, brian. >> pete williams, who has been reporting out this story all day in our washington ne

at roughly the same speed as it did during two thousand and nine which still russia outperform saudi arabia as the world's top oil exporter. russia has close to its peak of production is expected to decline twenty two percent in ten years time because he has the world's seventh largest oil reserves. that's the latest you can always find most or is on our website dot com slash business. every month we give you the future we'll do you understand how we get there and what tomorrow brings the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world journalists acknowledge the update on our g. cross talk that's coming up here on our first let's get you up to date on friday's headlines from the senate is set to vote on increasing the retirement age while the country is once migrating protest all experts believe the reform is crucial for the economy first just don't. to pay for finance mistakes. petrol traffickers in iraq become the new help of the fuel they smuggled spills into rivers poisoning the population of water. and our common goal but no common vision while recognizing afgha

the problem goes to the core and that is the countries -- you cannot ignore saudi arabia and iran andther countries that undoubtedly do oppress -- >> but we're talking about america here. >> no, i know that but we're talking about right now a small number of people in this country but what we are afraid of as the number grows the violence will grow. as we have seen in holland and see in germany and as we see in england, do we have a reason to be afraid of muslims no, no, the number is not great but your mosque, moderate wherever they are have been infiltrated and have a history of being infiltrated by radicals. you can't deny it. you for all i know may not be the moderate you pretend to be but may be engaging in lying for the purpose of furthering religion. why should i believe you? >> why should he -- [ applause ] >> i'm shocked at the inference that i am not -- my intention is not good. have you looked in my heart? >> no. >> to see what my intention is. i think it's wrong for now say somebody is engaged in taqiya. >> i know it means lying to -- >> why would i do that. >> are you not

of the government of saudi arabia. of the new government of iran.operate with the united states in order to win the war on terror. so, if he wants to call it an overseas contingency thing, i don't care. but it does send a message, unless it's explained and he certainly didn't do that, leslie, it sends a message like this guy is not like me. i'm not calling it an overseas con ten genesee, i'm calling it a war on terror, do you get my point, leslie? >> i do get your point and i admire the fact that you realize that he is president of the united states. and he can't just infuse his personal opinion. >> bill: right. absolutely correct. >> and don't want in the polls when it comes to policy. i think sometimes we get hung up either way left or right. president or not on semantics. does it matter what he refers to it as? isn't it what the american people believe it to be? >> bill: it matters to the folks. presidents have always lived or died on public perception. dana, you know that better than anyone. presidents live or die on public perceptions. >> yeah.

of the government of saudi arabia. of the new government of iran.ooperate with the united states in order to win the war on terror. so, if he wants to call it an overseas contingency thing, i don't care. but it does send a message, unless it's explained and he certainly didn't do that, leslie, it sends a message like this guy is not like me. i'm not calling it an overseas con ten genesee, i'm calling it a war on terror, do you get my point, leslie? >> i do get your point and i admire the fact that you realize that he is president of the united states. and he can't just infuse his personal opinion. >> bill: right. absolutely correct. >> and don't want in the polls when it comes to policy. i think sometimes we get hung up either way left or right. president or not on semantics. does it matter what he refers to it as? isn't it what the american people believe it to be? >> bill: it matters to the folks. presidents have always lived or died on public perception. dana, you know that better than anyone. presidents live or die on public perceptions. >> yeah

i went to saudi arabia.nd i met while i was in cairo with many leaders, including the president mahmoud abbas, the palestinian leader, the palestinian president, and they are suffering similar problems because of interferences of extreme forces trying to sabotage the peace process and the negotiations that have started. the king of saudi arabia was very clear, very frank that they want a stable, strong inclusive government as soon as possible, which reflects the will of the iraqi people, and can do whatever it needs to do to bring stability to iraq. and he expressed his willingness to help as much as possible as much as he can to support such a government and such a future for the country. so i don't believe that there are leaders in the region who are trying to fuel extremism and to bring about sectarianism. it's unfortunately only iran, which is trying to create some problems in the region. and definitely in iraq i can say categorically that iran is trying even to bring about change to the political proces