and syrians were sent out a couple of years ago they bombed illegally the syrian nuclear program and again as professor marandi in tehran said they've never of never being there have never had a good relationship with syria and what bothers israel more than anything in fact is the fact the syria has always been remade in our life iran and iran for israel is and that iranians for their own creates an. israel wouldn't be getting the aid from the united states it wouldn't be acting the way it does without anybody stopping their illegal activities and their murders and their. encroaching on palestinian lands ok jonathan i want to change gears here i just you know i know you see another paper that you wrote your recent paper on iran it's not about how if we call it a revolution a revolt or a weakening or spring or whatever it we want to a collectively call it what's happening in north africa and how is it going to affect iran. on the ground on the ground well that's a that's a kiss that's a difficult one to say i think iran have found a formula for crushing the opposition in two thousand

for some in the syrian. rebel years groups there may be armed groups being supported from the outside and there's a diplomatic coalition forming against syria so that it is very very nerve wracking for the syrians right now they're quite isolated and even the saudis are a barrier against them it's it's a time when it's surprising that europe has decided to get so people involved france in particular because it used to be the colonial ruler of the area seems to be a hankering to return to its colonial roots something is so many people you're a war correspondent you see what's going on in these places before all this talk about the us what the regime change lots of interference and influence there but if you think they haven't really the u.s. the later they haven't succeeded in libya. they haven't succeeded in iraq i mean how can they take on yet another challenge when actually they haven't had any success anywhere else really. they they don't do so well in places that can fight back. syrians have a tough army

are trailing the syrian government. in washington to push. the e.u. has put the freeze on assets of thirteen top government military and intelligence leaders topping the list is this man the syrian president's younger brother he's described as the principal overseer of violence against protesters but no sanctions are being applied to the man calling the shots president assad himself to some acid is a convenient ally for the west although that's what was being said about gadhafi in recent years before the sanctions kicked in. member states including. perhaps think it still possible to do business with russia. whose western educated western educated wife as well so they say perhaps he might be the force of opera. in the country the e.u. says assets could be censored if he fails to stop the brutal crushing of opposition but he needn't worry the arab lawyers association says no one who's savvy would keep assets in their own names so toothless the u.s. and international community is being reduced from an international organization into the must think polic

has officially declared the syrian government illegitimate. if it would open the door to various steps taken to remove that governor but the south proclaimed position of the u.s. as the world's policeman and judge of which government is legitimate or not doesn't sit well with everyone here in the us now against if you want. your government you gentlemen are not to be in the world of the americans. even some of the u.s. long time allies like the yemeni president seem to be intimidated by those that's the white house to act as the arbiter of who holds power in the world. are you president of the united states and president of the world when condemning the government atrocities in different countries in the middle east and north africa the u.s. claims the higher moral ground and clearing human rights as the basis for its involvement but the critics say this is a smokescreen for the real reason for interference you know sourcing in their d.n.a. . and. in a movie. or so are you. perhaps the most. you cross the country and your. america's self-procl

wracking for the syrians right now they're quite isolated and even the saudis are against them. it's a time when it's surprising that europe has decided to get so people involved france in particular because they used to be the colonial ruler of the area seems to be a hankering to turn a lonely old roots and what we're seeing is a sort of a counter revolution where the european powers maybe the united states have seized on the revolution to try and bend it to their will and they're using a humanitarian intervention as the new reason for sending troops in however humanitarian aid to. the resources or strategic geography. with. conflicts around the world you don't have to look too far before finding french military involvement in libya trouble in its former colony of ivory coast are among the highest profile which is involved in. syria could be the next in line. limbs cousin and was shot by troops during syria's protests his parents there now live in hiding but he fears france will make things even worse by all mean his country on the pretext of stopping the violence i don't wish

good point well i think the israelis definitely do not like the syrian president hamas this time it's been hezbollah are all supported and backed by syria and syria is the only neighbor of israel besides lebanon which is a very different case altogether. but hasn't signed a border agreement with the israelis they are in the city effectively in a state of war and the situation changes in egypt and of course it's complicated who knows what's going to happen in egypt but i think that whether the americans like it or not there are forces at play in egypt will that will cause more pressure on the government to to support people in gaza and i think that in general when you have a situation with like that with syria which is supporting these groups and then you have a new situation in gaza israelis will definitely be feeling more and more uncomfortable to say the least so. go ahead is really going on with the way ahead mind boggling my it's mind boggling that jonathan should say they have lived in peace for thirty two years but syria the israelis and syrians whereas in fact a couple of years

this brings sanctions against president assad and six syrian officials. it would make it illegal for american citizens to do any business with them. the sanctions are largely symbolic as it is unlikely that they have any assets in the u.s. but they are designed to send a clear message to the regime in damascus. our correspondent is in washington and i asked him about the message the u.s. is sending with these sanctions. >> these are personal sanctions against president assad and the six syrian officials. the fact they are personal is quite unusual. other world leaders like the president of iran, mahmoud ahmadinejad, there are not personal sanctions against him. that gives you an indication of how personal they are in symbolism. the u.s. has set to president assad without you need to really reform. we want the violence to stop. this is the first time the obama administration has linked the violent protests directly to the government of president assad. it is the ultimatum to really reform. it is not known if he is calling for them to resign. -- if the admi

will take on new steps against it in response to the latest a bloody crackdown by security forces syrian officials blame armed terrorist groups for the rest of the protesters say they just want an end to decades of repression and corruption and want to human rights group claims eight hundred people have been killed since the uprising began almost two months ago and with us sanctions already in place and the threat of more to come the e.u. has also agreed on an assets freeze and a travel ban for top syrian officials but war correspondent eric mark says there's definitely western funding behind the protests in syria. there's great excitement of washington at the prospect of overthrowing the syrian government that's been on the front burner in washington ever since the bush administration the wiki leaks papers have shown that the us has been funding. the bush administration been funding. and groups in syria along with saudi arabia and israel. overthrowing the regime. this will intensify and we're seeing new broadcasts coming from washington purporting to be syrian liberation front. e-mails

taking aim at the syrian leadership as refugees flee across the border with tales of violence and oppression. washington finally set sanctions against assad. anger in afghanistan. at least a dozen people are killed in violent protests. and taking drastic measures -- one patient is chosen to replace his own flesh and blood hand with a buy on a limb -- bionic limb that he betts will work better. -- bets will work better. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. ratcheting up the pressure -- that is what washington did today, slapping sanctions on syria's president, bashar al- assad, for human rights abuses. the move comes after weeks of a violent government crackdown which left hundreds of people dead. but while the u.s. sought cover, russia vowed to oppose any for the united nations resolutions against its longtime ally. from the border with lebanon. >> they are among thousands of syrians seeking refuge in lebanon. they say the violence began when they joined a protest calling for the release of people detained by the syrian authorities. in response, the syrian army

probably small sanctions against the syrian government for its crackdown on protesters military intervention in the country hopes of ever increasing possibility. and final polish military pageantry schools of russian troops march through central moscow in preparation for a major display of the upcoming victory day. welcome this is artsy is one pm sunday afternoon here in moscow my name is kevin owen with a round up of the week's top stories for you and first the story that dominated the news the world's most notorious terrorist killed for almost ten years in hiding a suburb in large was shot during a covert u.s. navy seal operation they found nine eleven mastermind living in a multimillion dollar mansion about fifty kilometers from pakistan's capital but his arteries in this and no reports of deaths are likely to make the world a safer place. a man wanted dead or alive for a decade is gone the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden for some it was a moment of victory here's some of cheering for others a moment of embarrassment president obama is in fact there wa

promised more sanctions against the syrian government for its crackdown on protesters military intervention in the country looks an ever increasing possibility. and russian troops get a final polish during rehearsals for a major military display in moscow said to be the centerpiece of monday's big three day celebration says. welcome this is artsy it's eleven am sunday morning here in moscow money kevin hour in with a round of of the week's top stories and first the news that dominated last week the world's most notorious terrorist was killed after almost ten years in hiding some of the large was shot during a covert u.s. navy seal operation they found none eleven's mastermind living in a million dollar mansion about fifty kilometers from pakistan's capital resulted in this and now i reports death is unlikely to make the world a safer place. the man wanted dead or alive for a decade is gone but the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden for some it was a moment of victory you can hear some of cheering for others a moment of embarrassment president obama is in fa

and if you take a look at the assets of the syrian regime, if you compare the syrian regime and the runningoom it has in the world, and you compare it with moammar al gadhafi, look, as we know today, gadhafi -- a warrant was issued for his arrest. he's being treated as a war criminal. the same must be true of bashar al assad. but we still can't really break with him. i want to read you just a little note and maybe jill may want to say something about this. this is from an exchange between jeffrey goldberg of the "atlantic monthly" and our chief diplomat, secretary of state hillary clinton. she's asked by jeffrey goldberg, would you be sad if bashar assad's regime disappeared? the answer, "it depends on what replaces it." it depends on what replaces it. so even american diplomacy as we point to the syrian regime and what it's doing on the border with israel, even american diplomacy hasn't seen fit to do the right thing, which is to declare this man, bashar al assad, a war criminal and to give him the same treatment we have given someone like gadhafi. >> jill, the president has given a speech

promised more sanctions against the syrian government for its crackdown on protesters military intervention in the country looks an ever increasing possibility. and final polish for military pageantry scores of russian troops marched through central moscow in preparation for a major display on the upcoming every day. of the week so main headlines this is r.t. and of course the one that dominating story the world's most notorious terrorist has been killed after almost ten years in hiding some up in martin was shot during a covert u.s. navy seal operation they found nine eleven mastermind living in a million dollar mansion about fifty kilometers from pakistan's capital because our teams and he said now reports bin laden's death is unlikely to make the world a safer place. the man wanted dead or alive for a decade is gone but the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden for some it was a moment of victory you can hear some of the cheering going on for others a moment of embarrassment president obama is in fact dead it was a u.s. eyes i'm sorry but there's one thing

that brings in sanctions top syrian officials. the measure will freeze and the assets they have under u.s. jurisdictions and to make it illegal for american businesses to do business with them. they have many assets in the united states and are wanting to send a clearer message. i asked him about the message that the u.s. is sending. >> they are personal sanctions. and the other top syrian officials. the fact that they are personal is quite unusual. other world leaders, they do not have personal chansons -- sanctions. it is basically the obama administration saying to the president, you need to really reform. we want a real reform from you and we want the violence to stop. it is the first time the obama administration has linked it directly to the government. it is the last ultimatum to really reform. not yet calling for him to resign. >> president obama is going to make a speech about the recent unrest. really laying down the mark before that speech? >> is one of several events this week linked to u.s. policy in the middle east.

problems from all sides against the syrian government for its crackdown on protesters truth eventually become free looks an ever increasing possibility. of russian troops get a final polish during rehearsals for a major military display of moscow to be the centerpiece of monday's victory day celebration. welcome this is r t it's nine am sunday morning here in moscow it's cover now in with you this hour with a roundup of the week's top stories and first the story that dominated the news the world's most notorious terrorist killed for almost ten years in hiding a suburb in la who was shot during a covert u.s. navy seal operation they found nine eleven mastermind living in a multimillion dollar mansion about fifty kilometers from pakistan's capital result season it's now reports next bin laden's death is unlikely to make the world a safer place. the man wanted dead or alive for a decade is gone but the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden for some it was a moment of victory you can hear some of the cheering going on for others a moment of the barest won't p

syrian security forces are said to have shot dead as many as 30 people. the newspaper says 10 soldiers were killed by what the government is calling terrorists. the european union has agreed to impose sanctions. >> the syrian president, surrounded by a loyal supporters, in the role of popular leader. pictures on state television showed him marking the mother's day holiday as if life is continuing as normal. but while he acts as a statement on the outskirts of damascus,

they are blaming the syrian army for the violence. they said they have no idea when they will be able to go back to their homes. >> for more on events unfolding, i am joined by a our next guest. he formerly served as the u.s. ambassador to moscow. we do not know exactly what happened in syria because we do not have foreign journalist there. we have seen enough stories like that one. why did it take the white house this song to impose sanctions? >> it is a very good question. it is the combination of the president's speech tomorrow on the middle east, and the blood being spilled and all of the syrian cities has ratcheted up calls for international criticism. domestic questions about why the president, who was so quick to throw gaddafi under the bus, has been so restraint in dealing with the regime that has far more american blood on its hands, then gaddafi's regime ever had. >> he will try to lay out what the american vision is for the middle east. judging from what we have seen it would syria and libya, that there is no unified americ

has imposed sanctions on syrian president bashar assad for human rights abuses all of this following the violent crackdowns on ansi government protesters and measures the first time president assad personally and restrict his access to property in the u.s. and prohibit anyone on american territory from dealing with him sanctions also apply to six senior syrian officials. the editor of an online a current affairs website says the situation in syria is still hiding some prices and that situation could go either way if a and inherently authentic domestic dissent is able to perpetuate itself and to grow as it did at least to some extent in egypt i think it is possible that the regime in syria is going to have to just pack up and go but this is very very tricky the key thing would be not to get involved militarily as they have the in libya. well when the people of egypt

us any you threaten the syrian government with fresh sanctions after its latest crackdown on protesters seize dozens of demonstrators kill. filed charges ahead of a national celebration of russian troops and gearing up for a major military display in the heart of moscow on victory in. triggering debate we were poured on the pro-gun lobby in the us where some argue that their right to bear arms even extends to taking them on planes. ten am in moscow i match reza good to have you with us here on r t our top story the u.s. is threatening to take new steps against the syrian government in the latest response to a bloody crackdown by security forces human rights groups believe some thirty people were killed in violence during the anti-government demonstrations across the country. armed terrorist groups for the unrest while protesters say they want an end to decades of oppression and corruption. more than five hundred eighty people have been killed since the uprising started seven weeks ago following on from u.s. sanctions on the threat of more to con you has agreed to an asset freeze and tra

there's nothing as of yet on the syrian state-run news agency, the syrian-arab news agency. this say regime known for its defiance, especially in the face of international condemnation and in the face of sanctions that have already been slapped against the regime as recently as at the end of march when the syrian military went into the southern part of dara. we saw the military crackdown intensifying. at the same time, this is a regime that has been pulling to try to pull itself out of international isolation. the regime has been focusing a lot of efforts on trying to put forward the president's image of being a reformer. it's been an image that the international community has been willing to buy into. the syrian regime believes it still holds the upper hand when it comes to dealing with this uprising within its own borders. it realizes and the reality is, the u.s. has very little real leverage against the syrian regime and it is also capable of fomenting, if it feels truly threatened, fomenting here in lebanon and also more importantly, fomenting unrest instability for amer

there's great excitement in washington the prospect of overthrowing the syrian government that's been on the front burner in washington ever since the bush administration the wiki leaks papers of showing that the u.s. has been funding. the bush administration been funding are a militant groups in syria along with saudi arabia and israel. overthrowing the regime. this will intensify it we're seeing new broadcasts coming from washington purporting to be syrian liberation front radio broadcasts e-mails and now this new machine this liberation machine you might want to call it is being turned against syria so i think the fuse has been lit we're changing syrian government and there's a diplomatic coalition forming against syria so that it is very very nerve wracking for the syrians right now they're quite isolated and even the saudis are against them. it's a time when it's surprising that europe has decided to get so people involved france in particular because they used to be the colonial ruler of the area seems to. going to turn to tell only all routes to what we're seeing is a super cou

right from moscow welcome to the program all syrian troops backed by tanks separately entered the coastal town of bani us dollars a day of nationwide protests across the country that left at least thirty people died for us is warning the regime that it will take new steps against it in response to the latest bloody crackdown on price security forces syrian officials blame armed terrorist groups for the unrest or protesters say they want an end to decades of repression and corruption it's now thought more than five hundred eighty people have been killed since the uprising began almost two months ago and with the u.s. sanctions already in place and the threat of more to come the e.u. has also agreed on assets free and a travel done for top syrian officials so let's get more details on this and talk with international relations expert professor mark almond from built a university in turkey so now with the titans try. rolling to try and quell the syrian demonstrations how long do you think president assad can really hold out where he is. depends on how much support he has is clearly oppositio

and syrian troops firing thousands of protesters despite a promise to hold off meantime the u.s. is seemingly preparing to declare the country's government illegitimate with a military intervention for you to follow the. libyan rebels fighting colonel gadhafi make their case for official recognition more money while in washington but they end up leaving empty handed. but massive celebrations are held all across russia are marking victory day while ukrainian veterans had to fight the nazis once again after a brutal attack by nationalists during the festivities. we are highlighting the top stories of the week here on our team welcome to the program well thousands are fleeing syria where violence is raging despite the government's promise of a dialogue with the opposition international pressure is mounting on syria over brutal crackdowns on anti-government protesters with some eight hundred killed and more than a thousand arrested over the past couple of months the e.u. and u.s. meantime have imposed sanctions on the country washington even said to be considering declaring president

syrian troops swept through a coastal. blame terrorist schools for the rest to say they wanted to decades of oppression could walk said one human rights group claims eight hundred people have been killed. almost two months ago on the back of the u.s. sanctions. the freeze on. the top syrian officials correspondent eric might get. the funding behind the protests. there's great excitement in washington prospect of overthrowing the syrian government that's been on the front burner in washington ever since the bush administration the wiki leaks papers have shown that the u.s. has been funding. the bush administration been funding our militant groups in syria along with saudi arabia and israel. overthrowing the regime. this will intensify and we're seeing new broadcasts coming from washington purporting to be syrian liberation front row gets e-mails and now this new machine this liberation machine you might want to call it is being turned against syria so i think the fuse has been lit we're changing syrian government and there'

also in this program, syrian forces continue clamping down on unrest. the red cross calls for immediate access to people injured in the violence. and the numbers keep climbing for sony. hackers may have stolen the details of 25 million more gamer's than previously thought. it is midday in london. 7:00 a.m. in washington. 4:00 p.m. in pakistan where the y agency says it is imperative that osama bin laden was living there. there's astonishment around the world that the alkyne leader was able to hide in the city just a couple hours outside islamabad and a few hundred meters from a pakistani military academy. our reporter is near the compound. we will join her in a moment. first, let's go live to islamabad where our correspondent is just leaving a briefing of the pakistani intelligence agency. what have you learned? >> they say there were 17 or 18 people in the compound at the time of the attack. two people were taken away. osama bin laden was dead. and one other, they think it was possibly his son. four people were left dead in the compound. a son, two bro

in the history of syrian sorrow. the masks have fallen in damascus. this ruler, bashar al assad, has always pretended to be a civilized man. he had studied in england. he had reached into the outside world. he had been pretending to be a reformer. even some of our own statesmen, our secretary of state hillary clinton once called him a reformer. even our own president obama as late as may 19, just a couple of weeks ago, in a speech said that bashar al assad has a choice, he can either lead the progress toward reform or he can step out of the way. we've seen everything now. we've seen this poor child. and i think arwa is right. you send the boy home in order to scare the syrian people into submission. because the rulers are surprised that the syrian people are no longer afraid. >> and arwa, it's very difficult because we can't get independent access to syria. but we do see some increase in the protests since this incident. can we have a sense, do you have any sense of your sources in reporting, that perhaps we're getti

secretary of state called the syrian government's reprisals brutal and said they were responsible for hundreds of deaths hillary clinton also says the u.s. is looking to raise international pressure on the syrian government although she stopped short of saying that bush assad has lost his legitimacy as a leader but a white house source said the obama administration is edging actually closer to declaring a syria illegitimate now the source said it will be the first step what will be the seconds there or where those steps are in leading is unclear now the european union has already made some moves it impose a package of sanctions on syria which include asset freezes and travel bans for certain individuals but stopped short of adding the syrian president to their blackly is from what we're getting here in washington the u.s. could be airing our side to their blacklist at any time and start calling for the syrian leader to step down it usually starts with sanctions as we've seen in leader also from the case of levy and we remember that the road from sanctions to active military interventi

it's hard to think of a positive example of syrian foreign policy. over the last 20 to 30 years, that's why some are arguing that we cannot afford to see a change of government in syria because it's a factor for stability. what kind of stability is that? >> but could the west help syrian protesters even if it wanted to? russia and china would be unlikely to accept action against assad as they did against gaddafi. >> in libya, you had a con influence of factors that came together. the arab league wanted an international u.n. intervention. the u.n. security council gave it the blessing for that. none of that is going to be present in syria. so i think what the countries have left is the ability to sanction syria to try to isolate it. in effect, to try to shame it. >> britain under the western powers once tries to cultivate assad, hoping he might be a closet reformer. even today, the u.k. has not lost hope that he might at least be pressurized into reform. but as the death toll in his country rises, the chance of that are ever diminishing. >> the europe

a message to the syrian leader. >> president assad now has a choice. he can lead that transition, or get out of the way. the syrian government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests. they must release political prizers. >> earlier, i spoke to a syrian human rights activist, a lawyer whose husband has been arrested by security forces. she's on the run tonight, and remember, as you listen to her, she's risking her life just by talking to us. more violence across syria today. do you know how many people have been killed? >> today we have confirmed 34 names of people who got killed across the country. but what's happened in the last few hours is eyewitnesss say it's about 50 people got killed but we haven't any confirmation yet. >> is this because it's friday and after prayers, people are gathered and they start protesting and the security forces crack down, why so many deaths today? >> today the security used gunfire in all areas, which witnessed protests. usually they use in some areas they use shooting, in other areas they use beat

is threatening to take new steps against the syrian regime in response to the latest bloody crackdown by security forces troops and tanks are reported to have swept into the northern syrian city of bani os the day after a huge anti-government demonstration across the country that left thirty people dead officials blame the terrorist groups for the unrest while protesters say they want an end to decades of oppression and corruption it's now thought more than five hundred eighty people have been killed since the uprising started seven weeks ago following on from the u.s. sanctions and the threat of more to you has agreed to an asset freeze and travel ban for. syrian officials correspondent eric margolis says western countries may have ulterior motives behind their stance on syria. there's great excitement in washington at the prospect of overthrowing the syrian government that's been on the front burner in washington but since the bush stray should be ideas that would deliver a blow to iran since us if it's syria were collapsed and the government fell the israelis would like it because

at the top of the syrian officials correspondent eric margolies says western countries have ulterior motives behind that. there's great excitement in washington to try spectacle overthrowing the syrian government that's been on the front burner in washington or since the bush stray should be ideas that would deliver a massive blow to iran cincher as if. syria were collapse that the government fell the israelis would like it because of any syrian military capability and would assure that nobody's going to raise the issue of the golan heights which israel still illegally occupied the sixty seven there is if the right wing governments in europe germany particularly so sir cozy in france was. challenged from the further right when i become very militant very militarized in their policy and it's very popular now to go after arabs and what we're seeing is a sort of a counter revolution where the european powers made to the united states have seized on the revolution to try and bend it to their will and they're using the humanitarian intervention as the new reason for sending troops in huma