but if we give them medium weapons they can finish this regime and i think the free syrian army will take the step to finish this regime and to protect the civilians. the people. >> suarez: haitham maleh with the syrian national council, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you, too, good-bye. >> suarez: i also spoke with rania abouzeid who's been covering the conflict in syria for "time" magazine. she's in beirut. rania, welcome back to the program. given the context of everything that's happened in the last couple of weeks, is the free syrian army's retreat from homs a big victory for bashar al-assad? >> well, that remains to be seen. the free syrian army based in the baba amr neighborhood of homes issued a statement online saying they were making a tactical retreat to try and ease the suffering, basically, of the 4,000 civilians who have been under constant bombardment for weeks now. they said that they basically don't have the weapons to defend these civilians and that's one of the reasons they were pulling out. now based on these developments, the syrian government appears to

therefore, at the request of the syrian national council, the free syrian army .ree syrian army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . centers in syria, especially in the north through air strikes on assad's forces. to be clear, this will require the united states to suppress enemy air defenses in at least part of the country. the ultimate goal of air strikes should be to establish and defend safe havens in syria, especially in the north, in which opposition forces can organize and plan their political and military activities against assad. these safe havens could serve as platforms for the delivery of humanitarian and military assistance, including weapons and ammunition, body armor and other personal protective equipment, tactical intelligence, secure communications equipment, food and water and medical supplies. these safe havens could also help the free syrian army and other armed groups in syria to train and organize themselves into more cohesive and effective military forces, likely with the assistance of foreign partners. the benefit for the united st

neighborhood and homes fears are growing of revenge attacks by the rebels the chief of the free syrian army has sad but those draw was a tactical one position syrian national council who was with noise by european union has legitimate the presence of the syrian people has warned of massacres claiming they would provide leadership to discipline a spider's and give their weapons the opposition group already formed a military council to coordinate their weapons supplies these reports for the free syrian army claims that it's already received weapons and anti aircraft missiles from the u.s. and french sources arming the rebels has been considered as an excellent idea by qatar and saudi arabia earlier with a twenty two nation arab league also viewed this as an option if the violence doesn't stop here in syria humanitarian organizations have been accused to president bashar al assad to agree on a daily hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to be brought to the areas where prices still continues but the rock concerts that the opposition supporters abroad may use these to bring weapons to the re

they've been using relentless force in their fight to control free syrian army strongholds. the conflict has been going on for more than a year now. 8,000 people have died. syrian troops used tanks on monday and tuesday to attack opposition in deir al zor. the city is near the country's eastern border. a human rights activist says the assault killed many civilians and that members of the free syrian army fled the city. president assad is targeting deir al zor because it's believed the opposition uses the city as a gateway to smuggle in large quantities of weapons from neighboring iraq. it is the third rebel stronghold to fall. government forces have already taken the central city of homs and northern city of idlib. the united nations is trying to find a way to end the hostilities. assad's government has accepted a u.n. fact-finding team looking into humanitarian aid activities. it has also agreed to allow in experts who will discuss the formation of a group to monitor any cease-fire. still, syrian soldiers show little sign of letting up in their attacks. >>> russia has offere

they're not targeting the free syrian army, they're targeting everybody, the civilians, the free syriand liberty issue and it can apply to all faiths. >> but california senator barbara boxer and other democrats countered the g.o.p. was launching a war on women. >> women in this country are tired of being treated like a political football by republicans in congress who have tried continually and are continuing to try to take away their benefit, to take away their rights. >> the president ultimately altered the birth control mandate to accommodate religious objections. but house republicans drew fire from women's groups when they arranged for five men to speak against the mandate, at a hearing, while barring a young female law student, sandra fluke, from testifying in favor. the issue blew up again when conservative radio host rush limbaugh called fluke a slut and prostitute last week. he later apologized, but lost a number of sponsors in the continuing furor. president obama, meanwhile, telephoned fluke to commend her for speaking out. but at tuesday's news conference, he said women will

macleod voiced this report. >> reporter: these guys with me are from the free syrian army. they are defected soldiers from the army of the syrian regime. i feel proud that we the free syrian army can say that we are here, we are here on the ground. and hopefully soon we will conduct large operations, operations to topple the regime. >> one year into his brutal crackdown on peaceful protests syrian president bashar al assad is facing an armed insurgency by the rebel fighters of the free syrian army. the group is led by officers and soldiers who defected from assad's security forces after witnessing atrocities against their own people. >> reporter: it was like a genocide against the people, and i was part of it. the army went to the streets and shelled houses with tanks. and the demonstrations. this person is a field commander for one of hundreds of units fighting government forces across southern and central syria. we've agreed not to reveal his full name. >> we will enter from this position. we can cross from here. >> reporter: an estimated 7,000-10,000 men are currently fig

we should encourage the free syrian army to subsume itself under the leadership of syria's political opposition. finally, we are all deeply concerned about the disposition of syria's biological and chemical weapons and its lethal conventional weapons systems. i know the administration is fully engaged with respect to this particular challenge, and are working diligently to make sure there are contingencies to prevent these weapons from falling into the right hands. i would urge all of my colleagues to be fully supportive of those efforts. to help us work through the complexities of this situation -- and i want to emphasize this is not libya, this is not egypt, this is not tunis, this is a far more complicated and difficult proposition. but to help us work through those complexities today, we are joined by two of the most talented and accomplished members of america's diplomatic corps. i'm pleased to welcome assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs jeff feldman and former u.s. ambassador of syria robert ford, i should say ambassador, but not currently in country. secretar

intervention is already under underway i think what we are seeing is the west would prefer to on the free syrian army with serial are possible in border on quids then on the groups already fighting on the ground or girl many of them have already been defeated by the army because they look at libya and there they intervene to the process that was already under way and really having supported those militias they were able to establish militias they were able to control them easier to control them if they are with syria on the border areas. like if you recall the the contra organizations in nicaragua which were run by the by america and its allies something like that i think we're more suitable for a takeover which would then in our eyes install regime will feed off of the west but i think what we're seeing here as you say fireproof thought times a bit against this you think this is going to go over the next couple of months just briefly. i think it's a war of attrition here and i think though the free syrian army obviously cannot stand up to the force of our society they've lost inside the cities but i

army. the majority of the syrians are against the army. >> no, i am sorry about that. >> they know this regime a how brutal it is. they know what it means to confronted by arms. they are concerned about their safety. syria has what it takes to enter full-scale civil war. >> the extraordinary thing is, you can debate the question of arms, but the regime does not look unstable. and it does not look divided. and of the opposition does. >> the regime is divided, by the way. the divisions and the opposition are not weakening the regime or making it stronger, i am sorry. we should not overestimate the opposition. there's no opposition in syria. we do not have institutions like here. their only famous writers and professors who openly criticized the regime. however, it is the international community that is divided. if they come to international consensus and one solution for syria, this year in a position -- right now, they are not. >> russia is starting to change its rhetoric? >> no, russia will not change their opinion. one more thing i want to put on the table. anyone who says we do not want in t

remain chaotic on the ground fears a growing revenge attacks by the rebels the chief of the free syrian army has claimed it was through tactically shortly after that the opposition syrian national council has warned on massacre claiming they would provide leadership to disagree ised fighters and give them friends arming the rebels has earlier been considered as a good idea by qatar and saudi arabia the twenty two nation arab league hasn't ruled out this option either humanitarian organizations have appealed to president bashar al assad to agree on a daily two hour ceasefire to allow emergency aid to be brought to the areas with the fighting still continues the rock insurgence that's the foreign supporters of the opposition may use these to green weapons to the rebels we're hearing about killings in homes still happening in the conflict in on who's behind it the residents we've managed to speak to by phone say gunman a killing people in the area known as hell media many christian families leave opposition activists reports about execution style killings and burning homes by the army but these

people like abu saleh talk to the syrian army but is not syrian army. you mentioned in your statement as did senator lugar about the differences in the syrian organizations. there are differences. it makes it more complex. they talk to each other, sometimes they cord nate, but they are not organically linked? >> senator lugar? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to take up a point that you made about the oil exports and the success apparently in bottling up a high percentage of the income of the government. likewise, other sanctions against the country have caused what seemed to be in normal terms an economic depression in the country by most standards. this is likely to grow further. what isn't clear to me and i'd like some thoughts if you have them, about what food supplies are available to the people of the country, how much is produced in syria. we understand a drought has occurred this year, was a critical factor clearly in egypt, even while things were going on in tahrir square, people were not eating very well and the food subsidies had ceased. tha

the free syrian army you have many of insurgent you have. and sadr who came from iraq from georgia from libya. the question is who can control those people on the. syrian government is able to spread its promise but those the other side who is divided and no one can help to give the structure. we heard today for example from america they don't want very easy to state what if they can who are distribution. free will not succeed from the beginning and we heard today. yesterday from foreign minister of germany for the affairs. who said that the syrian regime cannot count on your score to protect itself what it does mean i think the timing is not convenient for such statements from the german side all of the obvious let me be pessimistic about any success for. their mission or initiative of course here and. like you said in your. eyes before we go into a civil war. i'm so sorry to interrupt you but that's all the time we have his job or the director of beirut based center for middle east studies thank you. thank you matt. with little light at the

take the injured journalists out of homs and it was actually the free syrian army who refused to let the journalists leave so i think we need to be quite careful that you know suddenly this has been allowed by by the syrian government there is in fact this is been going on for some time and there are there are a lot of on the ground reports including from al-jazeera who have confirmed that it was actually the free syrian army who stopped ambulances going in to to evacuate injured syrian civilians and. insurgents but also foreign journalists who were there. when i was reported this project coordinator for the conflicts forum in beirut thanks for coming on r.t. today thank you you thank. all right still to come on the program here in our new hope for an old hopeful the e.u. recognizes serbia as a candidate for membership as the government roll great promises a bright prosperous but some say realistic future for the country. but let me put in has called or any attempts to arm the syrian opposition unacceptable insisting it would undermine the peace efforts and the prime minister and pres

either extremists or syrian army trying. to make government there is there some speculation merely because free syrian army has some syrian intelligence officers better this because of the nature of it. well what i think it is i think that the opposition if they're able to take you know the right to damascus the downside is one million people in the atmosphere opposition much that way mad. at something they have clearly that developments made on the military all the military bases that is as we're talking about the syrian free army making those gains in damascus but what about in terms of the opposition politically i mean what we know that a number of groups are full of the new political coalition to act independently of the syrian national council this fractured nature of the opposition but what can that do for that overall goal. i think it's i don't think it's positive at all a couple weeks ago i worked with someone on the syrian national council i was. and they claim a lot of the activists say on the ground as you said lo

is a formidable army and the most important of all the syrian army has kept in general in tact and in support of the syrian government which gives a lot of bergen for the bashar al assad and gives him the confidence that by the time a comes he won't he will not reach that this is a victory and i think the reason why qatar for example has called the resistance and the reason why it has broken this desperate way of trying to intervene is the fact that countries like qatar have lost hope that they can impose or they could implement their own the when it comes to syria so certainly the hope of doing it on my i think it has a lot of meaning and points out the word timetable which our side has sent for so often with a confidence they were chief some decisive military victories thanks ever so much to the program on the wrist the middle east expert joining us now live from beirut and we'd like to know what you think about this on going situation in syria that's question on our web site at sea dot com we're running a poll today we're asking you a year on who the conflict in syria is bei

syrian national council as legitimate representatives of the people but now we hear that the free syrian army actually refuses to acknowledge the council's authority and what does that tell you about the state of the opposition the moment. ok wrote first place absolutely no surprise the syrian national council isn't seen to be legitimate by the syrian national army or by the syrian people in general this is an organization chair of political sociology professor at the thought on empowering . executive committee is made up of serious acts at the office of lecturers in universities around europe now you can understand why these are exactly the kind of people western leaders with want to deal with you know they can gesture around they speak their language pairs of hands it's exactly like the transitional council in libya again so basically what we've got here is a council of academics people who are seen to be safe for the west for how deep is this with getting all for isolation and recognition the e.u. has now recognized the here's the official opposition and they're getting recognition from th

what we want is for them to give weapons to the free syrian army. if they do that, then we can save our country. >> decision by the free syrian army to pull back has not saved former opposition strongholds from the relentless retribution of bashar al-assad's forces. homs is still being bombarded. the un's humanitarian envoy, valerie amos, stopped briefly in turkey on her way to syria. she is trying to reach an agreement for a large-scale aid operation. so far, there is little headway. >> the syrian government has asked for more time to look at the agreement i put to them. it is very important indeed in my view that we get unhindered humanitarian access. however, the government has agreed to a limited assessment exercise to be conducted by u.n. agencies and the syrian authorities. >> many who can make it have been choosing to flee. they are still afraid of what will happen if they are identified. when they arrived last year, many imagined they would only be staying a few weeks. they are asking when something will be done to help them get home again.

rebelers pulled out sustained syrian army bombardment. supplies of water and electricity have been cut. food is short. and there are fears for the safety of remaining civilians as the syrian army moves through the neighborhood. our correspondent reports from beirut. >> the baba amr quarter have been battered for nearly a month with thousands of troops pressing in, bombarding heavily with rocket fire. situation changed seriously and what they called tactical withdraw. now, relief can get in. the first job of the red cross and the syrian red crescent will be to assess and prioritize the needs of those who are trapped in the siege. at the moment, nobody knows how many civilians are still there. what is known is that for those who stayed, conditions are dire. but water and electricity cut, little food or medical supplies, and no fuel for heating against the bitter cold. evacuating the sick and wound left hand be an immediate priority. the change at baba amr has made it possible for the syrian authority retrieve the bodies of the sunday times

guilty of as much sort of brutality and terrible action as some of the accusations against the syrian army these are been documented in various reports we need to be careful of some of the mainstream media coverage in fact the i.c.r.c. and its local the syrian red crescent have been distributing humanitarian aid medical supplies water for some days and how much and harms and for example they did get ambulances through to take the injured journalists out of homs there are a lot of on the ground reports including from al jazeera who have confirmed that it was actually the free syrian army who stopped ambulances going in to to evacuate both injured syrian civilians and insurgents but also the foreign journalists who were there. quit over who has just come back from homs she witnessed a scene of chaos and carnage in the water on city. i spent nine days in homes with the syrian red crescent and saw with my own eyes the killing the bloodshed and the bodies on the streets many of the people in homes have not cited by the government all rebels they just want to be left alone and survive but the hu

on the ground reports including from al jazeera who've confirmed that it was actually the free syrian army who stopped ambulances going in to to evacuate both injured syrian civilians and insurgents but also the foreign journalists who were there. who just come back from a sense that she witnessed a scene of chaos and carnage in the war torn city. you know well of on third that i spent nine days in homes with the syrian red crescent and saw with my own eyes the killing of bloodshed and the bodies on the streets many of the people in homs have not sided with the government all rebels they just want to be left alone and survive but the humanitarian situation is dire with no water no power and little food but the conflict in homs itself is divided into with regime supporters on one side and the islamist opposition on the other i saw many lebanese mercenaries i spoke with members of the syrian army who told me about tunnels that entails between homes in lebanon which are used by mercenaries who ate a lot of money to fight we are each from what i saw all the blame for the violence lies equally

syrian army you have many of. them from iraq from your god. who can control those people on the. syrian government is able to spread its promise but laws either side who is divided and no one can help to give instruction. with little light at the end of the tunnel in syria the chief worry now is that it could plunge into an all out civil war and deep sectarian splinters in the country it's a prospect already having a chilling consequences beyond syria's borders as a explains. it's an air of c.t. on the mediterranean with a pancham for everything. lebanese tripoli looks a lot like its libyan namesake and increasingly it's being drawn into the revolutionary violence it's home to sizeable alawite and sunni communities and with the syrian border just half an hour drive away tensions are already boiling over the road separating the alawite and sunni communities here in tripoli is up to the serious street and attitudes to what's happening there did live lebanese more than anything else this country stands to lose the mos

. >> reporter: with the syrian army's assault on the opposition gather gathering steam, president obama has directed the pentagon to begin preliminary planning for what had once been all but ruled out, military intervention. jo joint chiefs chairman general martin dempsey told the senate arms ser arms services committee the military has provided the white house an estimate of what it would would take. >> what are the potential missions, what is the enemy order of battle, what are the enemy's capabilities or potential enemies. what are the troops we have available and how much time. >> reporter: defense officials say to protect civilians from the syrian army would require tens of thousands of troops occupying parts of syria and a sustained air campaign that would dwarf last year's operation in libya. >> they have approximately five times more sophisticated air defense systems than existed in libya covering one-fifth of the terrain. >> reporter: to hear dempsey and defense secretary panetta tell it, everything about syria is m is many times more difficult than libya. providin providing ar

united nations voices concerns that the rebel free syrian army may be using child soldiers in their battle against president assad as international peace envoy kofi annan says it's up to the syrians to decide their leader. the two faces of a saudi arabia's democratic right or odds with reality as its own people run to escape rulings that make protests in a sense and the king's authority absolute. the u.s. seeds to plant anti-missile shields in asia and the middle east in alongside its european project while its involvement in korean affairs is seen as an attempt to expand american influence in the region. and with washington showing no let up on its pursuit of whistleblowers more journalists feel forced to sacrifice the truth fearing for their future. thanks for joining r t it's two o'clock here in moscow and i'm karen taraji the free syrian army may be sending child soldiers to fight against government forces according to a report received by the united nations the body says it will now investigate the matter as kofi annan the international peace envoy declares it's up to the people of sy