you mentioned hezbollah iraq, and syria.m the other side you have -- with the presence of the united states, turkey, france, u.k. heavy weight countries. that gives the operation more strength. however, it's it doesn't make sense to undermine the opposition to the operation. because iran is a regional player, is being considered the main supporter to houthis without abdullah and iran houthies would not be able to achieve what they have done so far. and the whole operation, that is year message to iran. it just to say to iran, you have enough so far, there is our turn the first message it was to iran, i think the reaction to iran by having this kind of criticism from iraq, and hezbollah and syria is part of this voicing by saying we are a one front against those who are behind this operation can iran doing anything about the intervention. >> so far it is limited. look at the what is being said so far. the criticism especially to the saudi arabia, trying to where in the world they would be bloodshed all of this this is taken i

how does it serve hezbollah's interest to operate with the forces in syria? >> it's related to their interest. hezbollah and the regime are backed directed and supported and trained by the government. their interests are very much intertwined with each other. there's little intended. >> i want to get into iran's influence in a second. hezbollah is based in lebanon. in zana's report there are -- zeina khodr's report there are fighters in the area is it strengthened by the involvement. has it spread itself in. >> it opened more fronts. hezbollah - yes, it is a lebanese move it is an arm of the iranian regime and been used as a proxy to irritate the israelis. in the post arab spring world, in the sunni divide it had to direct in other ways. militarily stretching thinner, iran made it clear that it would put the resources into it to secure the regime. >> has that affected support in lebanon? it has polarized lebanon. >> it has always been a polarizing factor in lebanon. for those generally from the shia villages and shia population, that pore is more enfrenched. e

israel raised stakes to a degree israeli perspective fear hezbollah and iran gain more and more power as compared to the regime itself in syria increasingly see that regime control of areas bordering the occupied golan is tantamount to hezbollah control. >> reporter: hezbollah fighters spread across syria, iraq and lebanon and some argue the group cannot afford a major escalation with israel it is already on the front line of the regional sunni/shia conflict but if it captures this it will push strongholds from lebanon and hezbollah have a new front on the border. >>> u.s. president called the speech to u.s. congress a distraction to nuclear negotiation with iran and benjamin netanyahu is expected to tell congress why he is opposed to a possible nuclear deal and secretary of state john kerry holding talks with iran foreign minister in switzerland and set a march 24 deadline to reach agreement on iran program and tehran consistently denied it wants to build a bomb but many countries worry it wants the capability to make one. conservative politicians in both countries are trying to scuttle the deal and republicans in u.s. congr

. >> foreign fighters flooded into syria, including those linked to al-qaeda who came to help the opposition, while the government has help from members of hezbollah and fighters from iran. to add to the complexity, the islamic state of iraq and the levant now controls parts of syria. many of the activists who first rose up against assad found themselves targeted by isil. >> now the problem is not only with assad. the foreign powers fighting each other on our land, this is what changed the course of the revolution. >> during the early days of the revolution, the country was split between supporters of the syrian opposition and those of the syrian regime be it was an us or them approach. the conflict today has many players, and that dragged on with no clear winners, only losses on both sides. as the majority of syrians including those who started the uprising are left to watch from the sidelines. al jazeera, amman, jordan. >> good to have you with us on al jazeera. you know, the war is entering its fifth year now and let me put these comments to you that the u.s. secretary of state john kerry has made. he's saying that the united states will in the

the assad regime in syria and hezbollah in lebanon. and that's why although i think we need to defeat isis i would not aid the government of baghdad to do it ambassador, do you get the sense that the white house could be relying on iran to fight isis because we know they are a shared enemy of ours. but netanyahu says the enemy of our enemy is our enemy. do you get the sense that in these deals there could be talks that president obama, since he doesn't seem to have the appear tight to fight isis would rely on the iranians to do that? >> i i think it's a way for the administration to show in their view commonality with iran. i will tell you what's going on. i think that ties together this statement about the american prisoners in iran. the fight against isis and the nuclear deal. i think that the administration is going for a cuba answer here. i think it's what iran wants. i think it's part of the reason why the language about hezbollah and iran and their terrorist activities disappeared this year from the worldwide threat assessment. i

neighboring countries are talking about the fact that iran supports shiite muslim groups in libya, syria and hezbollah. >> i was in saudi arabia earlier this year visiting with the leaders there including the current king. and the discussions always go back to iran with a nuclear weapon and the nuclear arms race that will now follow because if iran has a nuclear weapon saudi arabia wants one, egypt will want one turkey will want one. we will see a significant escalation of nuclear arms world wide. >> what is the realistic time table on dealing with iran? this march 24 deadline and then june deadline. >> i think we need to put sanctions back if they don't hit this deadline. sanctions are what brought iran to the table in the first place. they need the money for their economy and also for their appetite. they're funding efforts in yemen, hezbollah hamas. anything we can do to hold their money i think holds their feet to the fire. >> a lot to get to with you. first crunch time fast approaching in these nuclear talks with iran. will a deal be reached by the end of march or will tehran be hit with new sanc

they feel that as hezbollah gains more power as compared to the regime itself in syria they increasingly see that regem control of areas bordering the occupied golan is tantamount to hezbollah. >> hezbollah fighters are spread across syria iraq and lebanon. some argue that the group cannot afford a major escalation with israel. it is already on the front line of the regional sunni-shia donor conflict but it could push rebels away from lebanon and they would be on israel's border. >> still to come on the news hour. we'll take you inside a warehouse in eastern ukraine where pro russia separatists are preparing for battle. and push for better treatment of migrants in the u.k. why some say they're being treated like criticals. and we hear from two-time world champion about why he won't be lining up for the race of the formula one season. >> in libya fighter jets backed by the legally installed government have bombed ally rebels south of sirte. they seized the oil fields when security forces were treated. meanwhile, the u.s.-recognized governments in tibruk has sheffield united the only worki

they need to remove their troops, and remove hezbollah from syria, and if they are interested in engaging in diplomatic talks in good faith, i am sure that there could be a chance for that. so far that has not changed. that has not changed their before, they continue day in day out. iran could bring that timeline shorter by stopping active participation in the war on the ground in syria. aware that this conflict is multiple players, and everyone has a role and responsibility in it. the turkish corridor that provided the weapons and ammunition to the opposition, the ply and creation the monster of i.s.i.l. the u.s. cover for this continuation of funds and weaponry to go to the opposition that today has created this mess in syria in the region. iran cannot step back and say we'll hand off the region and the country. the problem is that the conflict retires first and foremost, the iranians said over again. >> let me jump in there. it's pointed out that a lot of players, and you heard them talk about 2,000 armed militias with names, identities and funds. >> there are a lot of militias, but th

they're overextended with syria, hezbollah, now throw in yemen, never mind what they're trying to dohey're trying to do, but, boy, the nuclear deal only -- only gives them morte opportunity to flex muscle and get stronger and more powerful. it's a bigger an even bigger challenge today for the president. how does he sell the public on this iran deal lit alone congress? >> talk about that. on negotiations the a.p. reports the u.s. is considering letting iran run centrifuges but limit the number. bob menendez released a statement aing "my fear is we're no longer guided by the principle that no deal is better than any deal but negotiating, any deal is for a deal's sake". >> if that's so i don't think the president will be able to stell to the public let alone congress. basically, they had to strike some deal because no deal was only going to result in one thing. some military action to try to slow down or stop iran's nuclear capabilities. you know, i -- i think that the framing and the timing you know, my guess that the administration could buy more time, they'd buy more time but i don't

benefited the iranians more than any other country, as trita noted in yemen new york iraq in syria, with hezbollah in lebanon with hamas in israel. they are standing to gain. right now if they end up with a deal that relieves sanction allows them to get a little bit more cash in their pockets, they can strengthen their hold on the region and end up considerably stronger at the end of this. and the saudis and the others do not see the same kind of opportunities for them. >> woodruff: what about that? do you see this, trita parsi, do you see what's going on right now in yemen affecting those iranian nuclear talks? >> i don't think it's going to have a significant impact on those negotiations. if anything it may make it more clear that there is a need for a nuclear deal there. the united states and iran actually can start talking about regional developments because so far that's been off the table. i would also caution against a view that the iranians some way somehow are taking over the region. yes, the iranians have been able to take advantage of chaos that has existed, which is rooted frankly in t

their influence in beirut and lebanon, their influence in syria, in damascus and hezbollah.ut a lot of things are happening right now in the region to be honest with you. and the -- the history between persia -- persian shia and arab world and arab shia is complicated. remember, iraq and iran had a ten-year war -- eight to ten-year war. people were gassed. iranians did not respond with gas. there are a lot of interesting facets of how that played out. and yes, iran's influence has spread at this moment and we're deeply concerned about it but if -- if you are concerned about it now, think of what happens -- and i hear this -- we heard it in the florida house recently, and you hear it elsewhere, if they have a nuclear weapon and they were doing that. that's why this administration believes the first step is to prevent the access to the nuclear weapon or prevent their ability to develop a nuclear weapon. and that's our goal first to try to do that diplomatically. and if it cannot be achieved diplomatically, then we all have a lot of options available to us. but we are eyes wide

if you are giving direction to hezbollah but the central point i want to -- >> what you mentioned your question implies that iranians are fighting syria. that is definitely not correct. if they come here we would if he. we don't have problem. we have the right to bring our-- fight with us. at the same time we know that hezbollah is in syria. we didn't deny this. why to deny iran-- . >> rose: if the syrian people supported you why when the so-called arab spring came were you almost about about to lose power until outside forces came in. >> the evidence of syria people were not supporting you if you were facing that kind of -- >> if you have arab spring today neither iran nor russia, not even hezbollah can help you the different situation that you mentioned earlier between the beginning of the is crisis and today that we are gaining more support by the syrian people because they discover the truth, at the very beginning many people weren't. now that is very clear. and we have support even from many people in the opposition against the terrorism so the main factor why the situation has changed, not iran or hezbollah if the syrian incute

they become the de facto for the whole region linking up with iran hezbollah syria. you have two sides opposing each other and it becomes a nuclear arms race. >> not to mention all the other -- >> you disagree? >> -- territory that there's backed rebels in. year -- we're looking at yemen too. they're spreading out. >> just about the sanctions, you know, it's one of the tools that the u.n. uses along with the i.e.a. but it's not effective. it chokes and starves the middle and lower classes. they're the ones who are truly affected by the economic sanctions. they tried to do something with russia, obviously and blocked some bill on airs from their money but it also proliferates the black market so the upper classes in iran are able to get the technology and they can still benefit. >> but they don't have the outside investment and when you have multi national companies pouring into iran and investing, it lifts the nation to a whole other level. i totally appreciate your point. >> exactly. a nation to the point where there can be an overthrow of an islamic theocracy. in c

hezbollah. president assad: your question implies iranians are fighting in syria. have the right to bring them to fight with us. at the same time, we did not deny hezbollah -- charlie: why, when the so-called arab spring came were you about to lose power? until outside forces came in? president assad: if you have the arab spring today, nobody can help you. it is a different situation you mentioned earlier. between the beginning of the crisis and stay. -- today. we are getting more support from the syrian people. they discovered the truth. we have support even from many people in the opposition against terrorism. the situation has changed. not iran or hezbollah. the syrian population has changed. hezbollah is not a big army. it cannot play that role all over syria. charlie: big game on the ground it not change until they came. president assad: that is not true. charlie: you did not need them? president assad: they play an important part. you talk about 23 million in syria. you have arab spring, a few thousand fighters from has below will not change the -- from hezbo

iran has a big massive control over syria, massive control over iraq and hezbollah, and parts of lebanon. these are areas affecting saudi areas and influence. it was a matter of time before be saw this happen. >> omar al saleh speaking to us now. the white house press secretary spoke about the situation in yemen a little earlier, before the saudi arabia operation in sanaa was announced. >> the united states believes that president abd-rabbu mansour hadi is the legitimate leader of yemen, and we have seen violent efforts on the part of the houthis and others acting in concert with president salah to foment instability. there are elements of the yemeni government na we are in touch with, that apply efforts to extremists and we have the capability because of the plans and the relationships we have in the region, we do have the capability to take out extremists if they are posing a threat to the united states >>> more from alan fisher from washington d.c. as we see there the u.s. coming to the aid of their arab ally saudi arabia. >> as josh ernst was speaking it's clear something was under w

a stirring ind indicator of how great the ran yan influence is and same ones that brought hezbollah into syria to kill thousands and thousands of syrians when bashar al assad was about to fall. so you can understand why the arab nations in the region see this continued attempts at persian hedgemy in the reason not to mention at least yemen, backed by iran as well. we believe it's delusional to think that somehow you're going to have some kind of profitable relationship with the country that continues to export terror throughout the region. >> senator, i want to ask you about the hillary clinton e-mail issue. john kerry was also asked about that today. here's what he had to say. >> the state department has had access to a wide array of secretary clinton's records, including e-mails between her and department of officials with the state.gov accounts as well as cables as they do for every secretary of state. i think we have all of the ones that are state.gov which are appropriately the ones in the purview of the department. let me check on that when i have time to pay attention to such an importa

syria. including those that came to help the opposition. the government had help from groups hezbollah, and fighters from iran. and to add to the complexity. the islamic state of iraq and levant controls parts of syria. many of the activists who rose up found themselves targeted by i.s.i.l. >> now the problem is not only with bashar al-assad the foreign powers fighting each other on our land this changed the course of the revolution. >> during the early days of the revolution, the country was split between supporters of the syrian opposition and those of the regime. it was an us or them approach. but the conflict today has many players, and has dragged on with no clear winners, only losses on both sides. as a majority of syrians are left to watch the solution from the side lines. >>> we can talk to the syrian academic and writer and an associate analyst at the doha institute. thank you for talking to us here in al jazeera. we have seen over the last four years pretty much an international impasse in terms of the way that they dealt with the conflict. of the existing current internation

syria, the u.s. is fighting against iran and is an enemy of iran which supports hezbollah and the government of basharsad. in syria the u.s. is also fighting with iran against isis. it is even confusing for me. in iraq we're fighting with iran. in syria we're fighting both with and against iran. and in yemen, now we're backing saudi arabia, egypt, and this other coalition. we say we're not going to get deeply involved, we'll just insist with some intelligence while at the same time huge negotiations, profoundly important negotiations on the way in switzerland with iran. >> it's clear. i see a path in front of us that is totally clear. >> let me ask you a dumb question. obviously the united states is the largest military on earth. everyone has been worried that we're stretched too thin. is iran stretched a little thing right now? right now they're fighting actively in iraq, actively in syria, pretty actively in yemen, and maybe even more than that plus they're iran and they have to worry about the militia they maintain in lebanon and -- aren't they a little stretched thin here. >> some people say no. m

hezbollah. president assad in syria. the iraqis now also moving into yemen as well.t is iran's end game here? >> let's just be very clear about this. the greatest killer of americans after al qaeda is iran. 20% of all dead americans in iraq and afghanistan were killed by the equipment the iranians supplied the enemy. no, their objective is threefold. number one continue to spread terrorism throughout the world and continue to capture capitals that belong to sunnis. it's a shia/sunni conflict. number two, build a nuclear weapon that will will shield them from any retaliation from anybody either in in the region or anywhere else. and, three, remove the sanctions because they are afraid that particularly with the drop in oil prices because the last great revolution in 1979 start ed off to take down the shah because of economic reasons. it was a shopkeeper in iran who took over the city. they're afraid if they can't lift the sanctions, oil is $50 a barrel that would be terrible for the iranian leadership. >> it seems so far in their quest they're doing well, at least in

so with respect to the interventions in yemen and syria, we -- and hezbollah very notably, we'll continue to pressure any storms of support we see. >> let me ask you one final final quick question because you mentioned hezbollah elm ail agree that iran continues to support terrorism and sew instability in the middle east. however the director of national intelligence did not include iranian terrorism or hezbollah or any terrorist threats in the 2015 worldwide threat assessment of the u.s. intelligence communities. can you tell me why? that didn't make any sense to me, or you can send me a letter about it. >> i'm happy to get back to you. my understanding heads he remains front and center in our concerns itch think the director was talking about the immediate front burner concern we have with isil and that was the focus of his remarks. but it remains a foreign terrorist organization. it remains very much in the spotlight of our efforts to counter it to push back on it. >> and could not exist itself it wasn't for iran. >> that's correct. >> thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you mr. engel. >>

the islamic republic of iran is popping up assad in syria while its proxy hezbollah threatens israel. iranian-backed shia militia are killing hopes for a unified, stable iraq. and last month, an iranian-backed militia displaced the government in yemen, a key counterterrorism partner. many of our allies and partners see iran pocketing an advantageous nuclear agreement and ramping up its aggression in the region. as a result of hard currency that they will have at their disposal have the sanctions are lifted. so this committee is prepared to evaluate any agreement to determine if it is in the long-term national security interests of the united states and our allies. indeed, as secretary kerry testified not long ago, any agreement will have to pass muster with congress -- those were his words -- yet that commitment has been muddied by the ministrations assistance in recent weeks that congress will not play a role. that's not right. congress built the sanctions structure that brought iran to the table. and if the president moves to dismantle it we will have a say. so i now turn to the ran

hands. >> foreign fighters flooded into syria, including those linked to al qaeda, who came to help the opposition. the government had help from members hezbollah, and fighters from iran. and to add to the complexity the islamic state of iraq and levant now controls parts of syria. many of the activists who rose up found themselves targeted by i.s.i.l. >> now, the problem is not with bashar al-assad. the foreign powers fighting each other. this is what changed the course of the revolution. during the early days of the revolution the country was split between supporters of the syrian opposition and those of regime it was an us or them approach. but the conflict has many players, and dragged on with no clear winners, only losses on both sides. as the majority of syrians, including those that started the uprising are left to ros the dislugs. >> right, we can talk to syrian academic and writer. he's an associate analyst at the doha institute. how far were the hopes and the optimism of the deraa protests resting upon the intervention of nato countries on the west as they saw in libya. how much did they rely on the outside intervention. >> at the ver

hezbollah. and they're fighting in syria.as completely changed from the time when we engaged the iranians in negotiations. the iranians are all over the map. putting all these demands and coming after us, at the end of the day. definitely we need a different policy with iraq. >> before you go, you talk about the expansion in the middle east, why should we care? why should america be concerned tonight? >> because if iran gets to yemen gets to iran, and beyond and has those long-range missiles and finally get the bomb and have all these international networks of terrorists, this is the biggest terrorist network we'll have ever seen. >> it's a disturbing evolution of events. that's for sure. thank you for coming on the show. >> thank you for having me. gerri: when we come back, old man winter is not done with us next. snow will be blanketing the country. a one hour trip into a nearly ten-hour nightmare for texas travelers. we'll hear from one of those unlucky fellows coming pick up here's the consumer gauge with the numbers that

syria and iraq. often targeting sustains bound for hezbollah.e last four years has deteriorated from legitimate popular aspirations into a conflagration of unimaginable magnitude. victims voices in danger of being lost amidst the h h horrors of a conflict now approaching a fifth year. an estimated 9 million syrian have fled their home, over 3 million have fled to nearby countries, and defining safe haven elsewhere. experts describe it as the largest mass migration since the end of world war two. courtney kealy. al jazeera. >> council did not assign blame for previous attacks like the one in guta in 2013 that killed hundreds of people including children it did blame the syrian government for the attacks. a bitter rival of i.s.i.l. which now controls about a third of iraq and syria. three hoart senior leaders were killed. >>> the european union is imposing sanctions on those who are rg involved with the syrian regime. one is accused of actings as a middleman for oil purchases by i.s.i.l. to talk more about the crisis let's bring in anna therese da

syria, the u.s. is fighting against iran and is an enemy of iran which supports hezbollah and supports the governmentsad. but in syria the u.s. is also fighting with iran against isis. in iraq we are against iran -- sorry -- it's even confusing for me and i've done this for 20 years. in iraq we are fighting with iran n. syria we are fighting both with and against iran. and in yemen now we are backing saudi arabia and egypt and this other coalition which is taking a strong stance against iran. but we say we are not going to get deeply involved we are just going to kinds of assist with some intelligence while at the same time huge negotiations profoundly important negotiations are underway in switzerland with iran. >> richard, let me -- okay. >> so it's clear. it's clear. >> oh, yeah absolutely clear. >> i see a path in front of us that is oettle totally clear. >> let me ask you a really dumb question about that convoluted -- those convoe lutded facts of life. obviously the united states is the largest military on earth. everybody in the united states has been worried for 30 years we are stretched too

iran's behavior in the region i think as far as the israelis are concerned, in syria, if iraq with respect to hamas and hezbollah are sthauch in the end the iranians can't be trusted, can't be relied. . if you add to that conviction the reality that in the weeks leading up to the march 17 election this issue allows him to dominate the preliminary stage -- political stage, and to highlight the experience his experience in national security matters against the inexperience of his key rival, then it seems to me quite comprehensible. whether it's the rye thing to do whether it -- the right thing to do whether it will succeed, those are different questions. i think if you asked why now, i think that's the answer. >> just in the last few seconds here could this backfire? could this hurt mr. netanyahu back home in some way? >> let's be clear, if by march 17th benjamin netanyahu is in a position to put together the next israeli government he'll be hailed as a political genius. if he isn't and in fact the exit polls suggest that israelis were offended or disturbed by what they believe to be a clear political act and he l

understand israel's concern over iran because if you look at their neighborhood, they have hamas, hezbollah syriaegypt has been, over the years a friend of israel, they certify the military relationship, but now it is not as strong as it used to be. you have iran eventually developing nuclear weapons. you have al qaeda, isis, israel is encircled by a bunch of bad neighbors. they are allied with us. the palestinian authority has not taken advantage of negotiating with israel on a two state solution because the palestinians are split between the terrorist element in the more modern element. this turmoil exists, and this is where we have to stick behind our friends. this is what perplexes me, why prime minister netanyahu went to the united days, angered a lot of democrats, anger a lot of americans for going ahead with this speech to the congress on a legitimate issue that he cares about and israel cares about we should all care about, the nuclear proliferation and iran. it has not played well, which is the message is do not mix domestic politics with foreign policy. it will come back and bite you. h

normalizing with israel, they have no interest in pulling back from issues in syria and support for terrorist groups like hezbollah split themselves, not unlike the situation we have in washington. >> i want to get you to react to something that another former ambassador to iraq said about the president about president obama's middle east policy. he said this, we're -- this is james jeffrey. he said, we're in gosh darn free fall here, though he didn't use gosh darn, when referring to the president's middle east policy. do you agree? >> i think -- i think frankly there is so much different stuff going on, it is going to be a very nuanced policy and the real difficulty is explaining it to people because it seems to have these counter cross impulses. overall, i think there is -- as there is a successful effort to push back isis, the concern is, of course, that we're empowering these shia militia groups. the real question is we have no onward policy for syria and as long as syria is going to be this exporter of instability, it is going to be very tough to the region. >> ambassador hill, thanks for your viewpoints on t

concerned their influence in yemen, their influence in beirut in lebanon, their influence in syria damascus, and hezbollah, and their influence in iraq. a lot of things are happening right now in the region, to be honest with you. the history between persian shia and arab world and arab shia is complicated. remember iraq and iran had a 10 year war. people were gassed. iranians did not respond with gas. there are a lot of interesting facets of how that played out. iran's influence has spread at this moment and we are deeply concerned about it. if you are concerned about it now, think of what happens. think what happens if they have a nuclear weapon and you were doing that. that's why this administration believes the first step is to prevent the access to the nuclear weapon or prevent their ability to develop a nuclear weapon. that is our goal, first to try to do that diplomatically. if it cannot be achieved diplomatically then we all have a lot of options available to us. we are eyes wide open with respect to what is happening. we have made it clear to our friends in the region and elsewhere in the world.,

they're messing around with hamas and hezbollah, with syria. the region. i want to see a deal where the enriched uranium is terminated. it's not temporarily halted. i want to see the strong sanctions continue. but i'm willing to see what comes out of an agreement. maybe they'll pull something out. and i think the president is doing his very best as is secretary kerry. but that doesn't mean as a foreign policy and as a former government official that i trust iran. i don't. i think they're up to their typical games, and i doubt their sincerity in pursuing these talks. >> all right. i thank you for your candor, former am bas door bill richardson. >>> the mysteries of the mind. an ambitious project to build a virtual model of the human brain is under way. so what that means for mankind next. ideas come into this world ugly and messy. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are. yes, ideas are scary and messy and fragile. but under the proper care, they become something beautiful. marie callender's knows dinner tastes better when it's home

but still to come we have syria forces who are battling to regain territory in the south, and we'll look at how hezbollahlping them out. >>> and we'll look at the action ahead of the formula season season opener. only on al jazeera america al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> tonight. did the police fail misty upham? >> if somebody did something to my girl, i need to know that. >> was is a case of discrimination? >> we had no help from the police. >> a family pleads for answers. "stolen sisters", an "america tonight" special report. tonight, 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. ♪ >>> hello again. let's have a look at the headlines here on al jazeera. iraq's army says it has recaptured territory from islamic state of iraq and the levant in the battle for tikrit. the c

and, iran's lebanese ally, hezbollah, sent thousands of fighters into syria. adding to the chaos, the islamic state group seized large sections of northern syria last summer. outside the white house yesterday, hundreds of expatriate syrians, and syrian- americans, appealed for new action... >> we need to treat the root cause of extremism and terrorism in the area, which is dictatorship and assad regime itself. >> woodruff: but two rounds of peace talks have already failed and many of the protesters say it's crushing to watch, helplessly. >> i always feel like 'i hope it's a dream, i hope it's a dream.' but-- and i'm afraid to even come and connect with the people because i don't want to see it, i don't want to think about its reality. but unfortunately, it's a reality. >> woodruff: and for now, the reality is that much of syria has been blasted to ruins, as the war enters its fifth year. >> woodruff: so, when, if ever, will this conflict finally end? and how it will happen? we hear from former u.s. ambassador to syria, and current senior fellow at the middle e

hezbollah in lebanon. it's with assad regime in syria. and it's on the verge of getting an agreement that will legitimize its path to nuclear weapons. as you said, the region is descending into chaos. we're past the point where we have a problem in this country and that country. we have a problem all across north africa and the middle east. >> it's not just like a a civil war in yemen. everybody is involved. you've got sawed ya arab ya involved, you have egypt involved you have iran involved, the arabian peninsulas involved. we're trying to help. although we have been run out, we fled there, that's just yemen. >> this has to do with the feeling on the side of the air robs, saudis in particular, that they can't count on the united states. they're left alone to face iran. long-standing support for international terrorism including the al houthi. now they are acting on their own. that's not necessarily a good thing. >> we don't hear much out of skier ya because journalists don't go in there because they get beheaded when they get caught. who

syria and iraq. assad and his allies, which include iran, the rigc and hezbollah. does the aumf give the authority to use force against assad's regime, al nuzra, hezbollah any other fighter fighting in syria and iraq or is it just limited to isil and anyone fighting with or alongside that terror group? >> i think it does not give the authority to use force against any regime. it's a complicated battle space. in the syrian area. but we believe that the aumf, the combination of the 2001 and this new aumf would provide the authority and flexibility for our forces and friendly forces to the u.s. government to be successful. >> and general allen, it was reported in the news earlier this week that hezbollah is preparing a major offensive against isil while the lebanese armed forces, the laf, may not participate in hezbollah's offensive against isil, there's certainly going to be some level of coordination with hezbollah and as a result, the patron of the terror group, which is always iran. what can you tell us about hezbollah's alleged planned offensive? are there any kn

causing a lot of problems in the region, in iraq with the control, in syria with the support of assad and lebanon with the support of hezbollah. >> the issue of the centrifuges. not all of them are operational. prime minister netanyahu says the supreme leader of iran wants 190,000 centrifuges. that's true. he has said that. we called a weapons inspector. that weapons inspector actually said that number could be completely consistent with peaceful nuclear program. japan has more centrifuges. is this focus on the number of centrifuges off base? >> i think it's something that has to be brought up in the discussion. if it was in the hands of another country, then i would not have the concern. in the hands of iran i'm very concerned. i just wish the president, and also for the democratic leader, nancy pelosi has shown more respect to prime minister netanyahu netanyahu. he's probably set off the real debate on the proposed or nuclear agreement with iran. he is our closest ally in the middle east. i think he deserved better treatment. again, we do want a good agreement. i don't know if we're going to get it. i'm very doubtful now. i

hezbollah. david: right. >> what they're doing with assad in syria but you have to wait until the last minute, david.ministration could put, pull something off that deals with these issues. so i'm apprehensive but waiting on the final details. david: nile, even if the iranians do bend on enriched-uranium the ambassador just mentioned some of the other problems with the deal. what makes it a bad deal in your eyes? >> well, i think it's a bad deal because it really allows iran in the long term to advance with this nuclear weapon as program. this is really a short-term deal. this depends on verification by u.n. inspectors. so far iran has not cooperated with united nations inspectors. in fact it has failed spectacularly to do so. this deal would be based on trust of the ruling regime in tehran which of course is a state sponsor of international terrorism. david: right. >> it's a sworn enemy of the united states. and there is no rhine why the west should be trusting this west should trust this brutal dictatorship. david: that brings to us middle east policy colonel wilkinson, i will go to you. on one han

syria, and then iraq. so, let's have a look at the first one here which is lebanon. in the south here hezbollahbout as a resistance force against the israelis that were occupying south lebanon. when the israelis left in 2000, hezbollah then gained some sort of political dependence and they actually gained ten seats in 2009 in the lebanese parliament. fast forward to 2013 hezbollah get involved in qysayr strategic town between damascus and the naval base. they remain around damascus helping fight against the sunni jihadist movement when sooef ben the islamic state. now, let's look at iraq. iraq is also really prevalent with shia-backed militias. populist mobilization forces that are operating in this area here. hezbollah brigades. they over the last year have become very prevalent because the islamic state is working its way from syria into iraq into mosul which they occupy tikrit which they occupy. it has to be said during the capitulation of the forces last summer, the brigades did halt the advance of islamic state to the east. so, thomas they are the main areas at the moment apart from yemen

bad ocor it supports a lot of the negative terrorist groups like hezbollah, and the groups we are against with the assad regime in syriant with the nuclear talks, which i think are largely focused almost exclusively on those issues it's going to be hard to get to a consensus, as you saw general dempsey was critical of the iranian role in some of these operations inside of iraq just a few weeks ago. >> i want to get your thoughts on what secretary kerry said this weekend that we would negotiate with assad. this is someone who the administration has said has to be deposed. what do you make of the idea that we need to be talking with assad and his regime to end this war. >> as i understand it the state department qualified what secretary kerry said because there's been some blow back from it. he supposedly was saying we wouldn't talk to assad himself, but people around him in the center of power. actually i think that's been the case for years. >> isn't that just diplo-speak? in the same way we're not coordinating with the iranians in iraq but effective will i we're talking to them? >> i think that's right, but in the cas

they were fighting a war on the western front against the hezbollah, peshmerga, the free syrian army and six separate organizations fighting in syria and a second front in iraq. initially they had success and now they pulled the united states into the war and between all of those simultaneously and i think they have reached the point of their geographic lyally situation. >> i read over the weekend, that boko haram has pledged to fight along isis just the latest group to fight with isis. how concerned should we is this something that could strengthen or spread them too thin where the commanders lose control of what they are trying to do? >> from a tactical perspective, boko haram aligned with isis is irrelevant because they won't provide fighters to isis. what will they do when they back down. the real fight here the strategic fight, is who is going to lead the sunni jihadist movement? it has been al qaeda. isis is challenging for leadership of the sunni jihadist movement. boko haram and others pledging allegiance to isis says if and when the caliphate collapses, isis will exist just morphing back into a terrorist construct. >> and

syria. militants recent seized the capital of yemen. hezbollah remains iran's atzpah. they drive five capitals in its drive for regional hodge hegemony. and they have increased its size of their nuclear missile arsenal. just two weeks ago iran blew up a mock naval aircraft carrier in exercises and publicized it with great fan fire. iran does all these things without the bomb. just imagine what it will do with the bomb. and imagine the united states further down the rows of appeasement -- road of appeasement largely defensive against this tyranny. you don't have to imagine much, though. simply look to north korea. because of a naive and failed nuclear agreement that outlaw state acquired nuclear weapons. now america's largely handcuffed watching as this rogue regime builds more bombs and missiles capable of striking the u.s. homeland and endangering our allies. but perhaps an even more obvious result of this experiment with retreat is the resurgence of russia. the president aspired with a reset with russia and made one-sided concessions like withdrawing missile defenses

its alliance through its negotiations with iran by finding common cause with hezbollah against muslim sunni fighters in syria have all polarize toed the sunni- the sunni-shia divide and makes iraq's reliability even more difficult to achievement and. >> what about u.s. traditioningal allies in the gulf? how have they responded? what is their role in this political dynamic? >> make no mistake about it the initial funding for al-qaeda and for isis came from individuals in the emirates. it may not have been official policy of saudi arabia, but members of the saudi royal family provided significant financial resources. monies flowed from the uae. there's a widespread view that the u.s. hasn't preserved its traditional alliances. particularly the arab spring and what happened me egypt raised all kinds of red flags because none of the sunni heads of state who we supported warranted -- wanted to fall to the same fate as mubarak, and they felt america's loyalty was a question. >> interesting. another neighbor turkey. take us through turkey's performance, its strategy its objectives throughout this whole crisis, the

they are losing on all fronts whether it's syria, iranians moved in islamic, lebanon, hezbollah, youically controls the government and then there's iraq. this attack on. they are feel ingunder attack and the rough terrain, they are just trying to hold back the chaos at this point. >> you wrote a war is taking shape in yemen, pitting all of washington's key allies in the middle east against iran and its proxies in a fight that could quickly spin out of control. how real is the threat of regional civil war here? >> it's very real. i think bob would agree with that. it may be difficult for the saudis to roll in on the ground but they have egyptians on board with them now. egypt has a huge army three or four times as big as the saudi army and all countries involved in this ten countries plus turkey see iran see chaos as a threat and they also see that the united states is not going to come in and solve the problem for them. that's why they act on their own in this case whether they can get the kind of coordination and effectiveness needed to try to bring stability to the reason that's an