senator john mccain has long assaults more support for the syrian army. >> the overwhelming majority of the syrian people wand bashar al assad gone. by the way, they are not extremists and jihadists, the syrian people reject extremists and jihadists. >> how right is senator mccain? joining me to discuss that are. i thank you all for joining us. we saw a car bomb go off near the headquarters of the coalition formed by the army. no group has taken cyd. there is increased fighting between the al-qaeda groups and moderate forces lately. as assad forces have increased their military movements. ambassador, what are you seeing inside syria now that u.s. policy has evolved as it has and intervention pulled back? >> well, i think there's two things i would point out. one of them is that the u.s. is seen to be weak and uncommitted, that we are not committed about engaging in syria. that's the lesson out of the last couple weeks of activity with the u.s. pulling back on strikes and the russians taking it's place in the conflict. you see assad using all means at his disposal, including chemical w

>> his statement was nothing short of a declaration of war against a moderate free syrian army. two days ago you also had a decree issued by al-qaeda's local affiliate the islamic state of iraq. further declaring war specifically against two moderate armies affiliated with the supreme military council in aleppo simply because they stood in the way of al-qaeda's attempt to expand. they're fighting against the free syrian army and alqaida east. a al-qaeda has assassinated free syrian army commanders in this past month alone. you're seeing car bombs targeting free syrian army headquarters in the east and potentially the one yesterday as well. the rhetoric has significantly heated up between al-qaeda and the moderate free syrian army. you're seeing these clashes that are simply coming to a head and they're boiling over because quite frankly al-qaeda views the free syrian army as one of its biggest threats. >> let's take a look at the latest study on the rebels from james, and its sobering. less than one-third of the opposition forces are seen as acceptable partners for the n.a.t.o. a

the syrian liberation army are moderate islamists. the syrian islamic front is a syrian nationalists. and then more extremist groups like nusra affiliated with al-qaida and other extremist groups. between these groups you have a larger debate within syria, within the option the future of syria, the tactics that you use. you know, what kind of goals of this movement are. and you have groups like nusra who are an affiliated with eastern syria bumping up with iraq, and then northern syria, which is why they have so many news coverage, they use the brutal tactics. >> and they've been getting arms from their allies. we've been seeing shocking pictures throughout this terrible war. we saw new ones, front page of the "new york times." here we see a still that shows members of a militant group in the north of syria minutes before they executed seven soldiers from the regime who are lying there on the ground. a number of those soldiers appear to have been beaten before they were shot. and with incidents like that one, and you know, the al-qaida

and the majority still, great majority, i'd say 70% are still the moderate free syrian army people. and yes al mushra and al-qaeda are a threat and ought of them are wasting time trying to impose sharia law than doing the fighting that general's forces are concerned. the syrian national council is legitimate and i'm confident the people of syria would rule e around them. is it complicated, difficult, all those things. but is the status flow acceptable. >> rose: saudi arabia has given them support, turkey has given them support. i'll now talk about the rebels across the board and probably some of that fell into the hands of people who are not friends of the united states. and others have, are those weapons not reaching the free syrian army? >> some of them, and some of them are being vetted by the united states and some restraints have been imposed by the united states on what types of weapons. and they have been helpful. but right now, the price of a bullet is a dollar. they had not until recent days perhaps they had not received a single weapon from the united states of america. the

and you're told that this is the syrian army get you know. that's really only going to make sure you get paid. and we leave while governmental forces continue their frenzy for model of the ledge which despite the claims remains under siege. reporting from syria. is posting real time reports on the situation in mali on her twitter feed find out the latest. on. the in the. coming up a bit later in the program a tradeoff between privacy and success but this university's began monitoring this week's five a day with an academic results will stall in a cup. minutes here. they all told me my language as well but i will only react to situations i have read the reports like the pushing the no i will leave the stake to comment on your latter point to say. to carry out a call is are you talking no gonna. take you no more weasel words. when you made a direct question the prepared for a change when you. get ready for a. critical speech. down to freedom to. dramas that can't be ignored. stories others refuse to notice. places changing the world right. so p

and the elf jihadist group we have been the parents of the free syrian army in a jihadist group as well and we heard a conversation from this office the conversation was between one general from the free syrian army we knew him from earlier as he was the one who was in charge of our detention and another officer from the group. which is. the was also a third person who was speaking perfect english and they were talking to him via skype they were talking about the events of the in the damascus suburb and from the conversation it was clear that the syrian government wasn't behind the attack but it. was it clear to you what the motivation was to use chemical weapons to launch a gas attack on civilians in this way what was the motivation do you think was it mentioned what. their motivation was unclear from the conversation but we figured that it would have been absurd for the syrian government to use chemical weapons the regime had nothing to gain from that the massacre there on the contrary it played into the hands of its enemies the u.s. france and the u.k. and it gave them a good

when you're told that this is the syrian army get rid of the press how do you make. sure you get paid. and we leave while governmental forces continue their frenzy for marla village which despite the claims remains under siege. for a fortune from syria. into maria's a posting real time reports on the situation in mali and on her twitter feed to find out the latest by following her online. in the. online. now shifted to the wind for no way the conservatives along with their allies us went to power in this week's general election i'll sting the labor party the incoming coalition includes see anti immigrant progress party which mass and matter are under us and brave it was once a member of conservative leader not so sudden take the helm as prime minister has called the victory historic and as we see kevin of experience the political mood in norway is being echoed across europe. two years ago norway suffered the worst massacre since world war two a brutal assault unleashed against a summer camp for young people claiming seventy seven lives the perpetrator was extremely.

from the front lines where our team came under fire as the ancient christian town of where the syrian army is engaged in a fierce battle to oust islamist forces. the debate on academic freedom we talked to a professor at a leading u.s. university who says the administration ordered him to retract his criticism of the n.s.a.'s method of decrypting data. and norway elects a center right coalition government including a party that once had to brave it as a member just two years after he murdered nearly eighty people including many children. and a welcome you're watching r t broadcasting live from moscow recapping the week's top stories it's an absolute pleasure to have you with us now in russia and the u.s. have come up with a roadmap to completely disarm syria of its chemical arsenal by the middle of two thousand and fourteen the plan consists of six key points let's take a closer look at what they are at this moment time now the exact quantity of syria's chemical weapons will be determined and placed under international control but first syria. will have to submit a full list of its stockpi

team is hit yet again as the syrian army receives of the christian century of mali from jihad his forces. and to two years after anders abbreviate shocked at the world with the horrific massacre in norway the empty immigration party that he was a member of is poised to take power as part of a right wing coalition we look at the decline of multiculturalism across europe. from moscow you're watching our teaser the weekly and today's top stories with me to bomb what say. the syrian government has been given one week to fully reveal its chemical weapons capability which must be completed destroyed by the middle of next year that's according to a new groundbreaking deal reached by russia and the united states plans have persuaded washington to call off its a strike on syria fees for the time being and he said no it has more. signed sealed and if delivered it could see syria hand over its chemical weapons stockpiles russia and the us agreed on a six point plan after a week of talks i think the main factor is the willingness of russia to take responsibility and russia taking the lead russia mak

he recently decided to join this jihadist group in the ranks of the free syrian army.ommitting himself to what he calls a holy war. >> they are at the beck and call of the west. they are against installing sharia law. i am in favor of sharia law in syria. >> the opinion is shared by all of those in the apartment and in serious. some are disappointed by the revolution, and at the beginning of the conflict they recommend transitioning. >> in reality, they do not even need me. it would be enough to check the buses there and look at the passengers arriving. take them to the border. >> now the flag of the free syrian army remains hanging. >> just 15 months after ringing mohamed morsi -- bringing mohamed morsi the power, the muslim brotherhood is once again going underground. the ruling also targeted any institution being branched out of or funded by the good brotherhood. the group said that the decision was politically motivated and that the ban would move under ground for most of its 85 years. he has in the past month that named a moderate as his foreign minister and chief

and you're told that this is the syrian army again you know. that's how you make. sure you get there. and we leave while governmental forces continue their friends the former lula village which despite the claims remains under siege. reporting from syria. meanwhile the russian president has expressed concern over the growing number of islamist within the syrian opposition a warning that foreign mercenaries eventually take the fight to their own countries let the repression address the situation in syria and also go for the new york times where he explained why he believes the use of force would only make matters was thomas cities have. a strong and hopeful article in the new york times called a plea for caution from russia in this putin directly address the us people in what he calls a time of insufficient communication between the societies he talked about the need for the u.n. and providing international stability and talked about a u.s. strike saying that it would put innocent lives at stake spread the conflict derail peace efforts between israel and palestine a

by the way the majority of free syrian army officers are defectors from the syrian army. and i have met with them. and their training and their indoctrination is to rape, murder, torture so they can intimidate the population. that's their training. you will hear and saw on the front page of "the new york times" some execution of some prisoners by the free syrian army and it is horrible and unacceptable but it also is an indication of how horrible war is and the war in which i fought we had a terrible thing happen. it was called the my lai massacre and it is a stain and a blot on the honor of the united states military forever. these things do happen. there is difference between acts violence, cruelty, barbaric behavior sparked by this anger but there is something else to have a doctrine and intook trin nation of your troops as bashir has to torture, rape, and murder. and that is a huge difference i want to point out and another reason why we should be helping the free syrian army a lot more. >> is it your understanding, and you have spoken with the president and other mem

there is 70% still who are the free syrian army. there are jihadist flowing in and not just from the middle east, but a couple hundred -- gone to syria to fight on behalf of the jihadist. 5000 hezbollah. the point i think you and others are missing, syria is a moderate nation. syria has the highest literate rate of any nation in the middle east. they are not going to submit to a jihadist or al qaeda group governing them. they will not. in some areas where all qaeda are, they're demonstrating against them. al qaeda is trying to oppose on sharia law.mpose that is a really convenient copout to say i know who they are. i was in syria. i know who they are. yes, there are 1200 units. there are 1200 battalions in the u.s. army. does that mean they're not connected to each other? of course not. if you do not want to intervene, you can always find reason to do so. is it a done deal? is it easy? was itvery difficult. easier to years ago? i guess my answer to you is the status quote satisfactory? is it satisfactory where people are being murde

where the syrian army is engaged in a fierce battle to us forces. and the latest on the n.s.a. surveillance is that america's spies are now apparently snooping on financial transactions both at home and abroad we talked to one of the world's first hackers about the agency's activities. and norway alexis center right coalition to government including a party that once had anders breivik as a member just two years after he murdered nearly eighty people including many children. and broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow this is our team with our weekly report i'm sean thomas glad to have you with us now russia and the u.s. have come up with a roadmap to completely disarm syria of its chemical arsenal by the middle of two thousand and fourteen the plan consists of six key points let's take a closer closer look at what they are right now now the exact quantity of syria's chemical weapons will be determined and placed under international control but first we syria will have to submit a full list of its stockpiles within a week after that these arms can be destroyed under

and the elf jihadist group we have been in the barracks of the priest syrian army and of the jihadist group as well and we heard a conversation from this office the conversation was between one general from the free syrian army we knew him from earlier as he was the one who was in charge of our detention and another officer from the group. which is. the result of a third person who was speaking perfect english and they were talking to him via skype they were talking about the events of the in the damascus suburb and from the conversation it was clear that the syrian government wasn't behind the attack but it. wasn't clear to you what the motivation was to use chemical weapons to launch a gas attack on civilians in this way what was the motivation do you think was it mentioned. with the motivation was unclear from the conversation but we figured that it would have been absurd for the syrian government to use chemical weapons the regime had nothing to gain from that to massacre on the contrary it played into the hands of its enemies the u.s. france and the u.k. it gave them a good reaso

members of the free syrian army, who the u.s. considers moderates. they are seen as a force that can counter the growing influence of radical islamic groups that have joined the fight. already, they are marching in new u.s.-issued uniforms, and they are getting other help. colonel adnan khotoba, who is in charge of the free syrian army supplies, took us the warehouse in northern syria where they are stored. it was filled with boxes shipped in from the states. body armor, helmets, even american military rations. but, he said, there's one thing that the u.s. has promised that it hasn't delivered. "we haven't even received a single bullet from america so far," he said. he took us to another warehouse where the group stores its ammunition. it was almost entirely empty. this is it? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: "yes," he told us, and this is for the whole free syrian army. all they had left were machine gun bullets and rocket propelled grenades, not enough to go into battle with. he said this wouldn't even last five minutes. a big part of the american relucta

the syrian army is engaged in. the latest on the n.s.a. surveillance. talk to the man who was once one of america's most wanted. norway a center right coalition government including a party that one. hundred people including many children. and recapping the week's top stories live from our studios in moscow. with us. now russia and of us have come up with a roadmap to completely disarm syria of its chemical arsenal by the middle of two thousand and fourteen the plan consists of six key points let's take a closer look at what those are right now now the exotics quantity of syria's chemical weapons will be determined and placed under international control but first the syria will have to submit to a list of its submit excuse me a full list of its stockpiles within a week after that these arms can be destroyed under the chemical weapons convention international inspectors will then have to get immediate access to weapons storage facilities to begin the destruction process if syria does not comply it could lead to a chapter seven u.n. security council resol

so the free syrian army has to have some politics behind it and it has to have some territory.n people be trained to fight? of course they can be trained to fight. can it be done overnight? no, it takes months to build a chain of command, to rehearse, to prepare these people, to equip them. that's what's been going on. but what we really are after is what paul says. you've got to have the political diplomatic impact of this and to do that you've got to have somebody on the other side of the table from assad. >> but you raise an important point, which is that the free syrian army does not seem to control much territory at this point. i think i saw a report that said syria's 14 major cities it doesn't control any. nicholas burns, let me ask you about the intriguing prospect you raise, which is, let's say this operation takes place, it has some success. you want to then use that to try to build on it and get some kind of negotiated settlement, a political settlement. how would you do this and do you think the russians will play ball? >> well, the united states has to find a way to

team is a hit again as a syrian army rest of the christian century of molyneux love from jihad his forces . and two years after endless brave big shock the world with a horrific massacre in norway the n.t. immigration party that he was a member of is poised to take power as doublewide when coalition will look at the cline of multiculturalism across europe. like from moscow you're watching this week's of the weekly and today's top stories with me to bomb with so let's take a look at our top story. the syrian government has been given one week to fully reveal its chemical weapons capability which must be completely destroyed by the middle of next year that's under groundbreaking deal reached by russia and the united states the plans have persuaded washington to call off its a strikes on syria at least for the time being and he said no it has more. signed sealed and if delivered it could see syria hand over its chemical weapons stockpiles russia and the us agreed on a six point plan after a week of talks i think the main factor is the willingness of russia to take responsibility and russia t

and are told that this is the syrian army here you know. that's how do you make sure there is too much so you get better. and we leave while governmental forces continue their frenzy for manohla village which despite the claims remains under siege. for a fortune from syria. this just in here on in the program right now as. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry continue their talks in geneva trying to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis in syria john kerry now saying that he and sort of a left off have agreed to meet again in new york they'll try and do it at the end of september to try and agree upon a date for a second geneva conference we'll keep you posted on that here in the meantime though representing a half of the world's population the shanghai cooperation organization over looking at how it can lend its weight to peace in syria and for that to happen though it's thought that iran will have to play a major role still to come here on r t we report on that organization's summit it starts today including one. now for the

they're firing from behind this huge hundred told that this is the syrian army get to be careful you don't know what it is too much so you get paid. and we leave while governmental forces continue their frenzy for manohla village which despite the claims remains under siege. from syria. and representing half of the world's population the shanghai cooperation organization will be looking at how it can lend its weight to getting peace in syria. iran will have to play a major role still to come here we report on the organization summit it starts today. to build the world's most sophisticated. mission to teach me the creation and why it should care about. is why you should care only. russia has formally presented a proposal for the disarmament of syria's chemical arsenal and has personally appealed to the american public and political establishment to give negotiations a chance in war torn syria so tough questions remain primarily with the washington can we frame from its habit of using brute force. mission free could you take three. four judges free. arrangement free. free. free. free b

after months of intensive shelling, the syrian army seized this rebel bastion. n officer in the special forces, he fought in the final battle. >> the army was over there. there were fierce clashes in which they used all kinds of heavy weapons. >> four months ago, this young alawite officer lost his father killed in combat in q sayre -- in qusair. >> there are many destroyed houses. this is the result of the freedom that we are demanding. people living with their children. anyone who wants to return to his home, the houses are still there. they can return and live with dignity. the syrian army will bring them food and drink and everything they need. >> a call that, so far, has gone largely unheeded. it has all the appeal of a ghost town. before the crisis, this area was already poor. many inhabitants left to work in the gulf. many converted to solecism -- to salafism. them extremists don't have religion. god doesn't permit people to kill or to spill blood or to force others to hold certain religious beliefs. >> in homs, only 1/5 of the original inhabitants remain

after we left, syrian army jets were circling targets.edters of pro-western rebels thought a few days ago that the americans might tilt the war their way by attacking the armed forces of the regime. fact that the worlds most powerful military might not now come after them is very good news for the syrian army and its supporters. jeremy bolan, bbc news. a reminder of just how complicated the war is and how fluid it is, outside syria, russia has now given the u.s. its ideas about placing the syrian chemical weapons under international control, and the draft of a french measure. military strike against the regime being avoided. our editor has the latest. a day ofas been reflection and a week of frantic about turns. he bows his head to all of the attacks.f teh 9/11 this is the 12th anniversary of hardenedlt that american hearts against enemies, but there still could be military action. in an awkward speech, he said there is a preference for these and the russian plan. say ifs too early to this will succeed, but we must verify that the assad r

>> -- the opposition and to see the -- change the momentum on the ground in order that the free syrian army can prevail over time. that does not mean that any of us support having american boots on the ground. but right now it's an unfair fight with the thousands-s hezbollah fighters coming from russia and iran, and iran basically being the sponsor of bashar assad. so, we had, i think, a very productive conversation, both senator graham and i are in agreement, but now that a resolution is going to be before the congress of the united states, we want to work to make that resolution something that majority of the members of both houses can support. a rejection of that -- a vote against that resolution by congress i think would be catastrophic because it would undermine the credibility of the united states of america, and the president of the united states. none of us want that. but we do want an articulation of a goal that over time will degrade assad's capabilities, increase upgrade the capabilities of the free sirrian army and the free syrian government so that they can reverse the momentum

one has been in the hands of the free syrian army for a long time. came from damascus and iraq wanted to storm the city because i've long-standing dispute. >> reporter: it's also believed the al qaeda linked fighters wanted local people to hand over two doctors working in a makeshift field hospital. allegedly calling them surprise. and liberals, reports say the islamic state of iraq has taken one of them seen in this video, but the whereabouts of the second, thought to be a german national, is not known. locals who fled to the turkish border protested against foreign fighters coming to their town. with banners reading you don't belong to us. and we don't belong to you. and jihaddists, you came to help us, not to kill us. this conflict has serious implications. if the free syrian army loses control of the area, then that means an al quada linked group controls a major border post with turkey. and now militias set up to fight the assad regime are at war with each other instead. anita a al jazerra. >> the iranian president has urged other world leaders

the free syrian army i mean asli. yeah but the free syrian army is only one organization and i'm not sure it's the strongest one among the opposition and in any case. you know when. you look for any kind of procreation which my view i don't see it is serious to seeing that the opposition will it take in order to complicate there are so the regime sounds too far fetched i'm not sure they have the capability to do so but why has damascus agreed to give away the strategic arsenal so easily. i think the muscles has to listen to rush very carefully because russia is right now almost the only ally of the muscles of the regime and i think it's not about them our schools to decide i think it was the russian decision to go for this way and they are suddenly jeem had no other choice but to follow this road in order to save the regime. but if the deal takes plays doesn't guarantee that they'll be no further use of chemical weapons in syria as you say that the loads of divisions that right now. could you please repeat the questio

sustainable to degrade assad's capability and upgrade the free syrian army's capability to bring this conflict to an end. he will only leave when the tide of battle turns against him. >> how long is sustainable? >> it is harder and harder now with this delay. he is moving his forces around and making it more difficult to target them, despite what the chairman of the joint chiefs might say. anyone who knows the military in actions, like lindsey said, the israelis and others do not telegraph their intention days, even weeks ahead of time. if the goal is to have a military strike to degrade the capability of the assad regime to develop chemical weapons in the future, that means delivery systems have to be affected. it means the ability to deliver has to be affected. if that is done in a way to keep down chemical weapons delivery systems, that will have a substantial effect the grading the capability of the assad regime. you are to upgrading the capability of the opposition, cohesion, and giving reasonable force behind the opposition. these three things would work, but if the goal is to p

what has happened you had the free syrian army mainly defectives from the syrian army and syrian regimethey're led right now by colonel riyadh. they have not gotten the support that was necessary. there was a window of opportunity to really shift the balance if you want to call it that in this civil war. what has happened you have turkey come in, saudi arabia, qatar and muslim brotherhood and they backed what is called the supreme military council. that is much more islamist and have groups like al qaeda in iraq renamed itself the islamic state of iraq. and you have all these other splinter groups under the supreme military council led by general mi, sr-- misra. >> you talk about you will upgrade the opposition, which opposition? you have to be very careful of that. >> two points, juan, i've been making you have to be very aware of. number one, the threat, i think is clear present danger credible. that is that syria and iran will in fact retaliate against israel and the second one is we result matly could help al qaeda linked rebels in their battle against assad. either scenario is not

the syrian army ends the extremists reign of terror in the christian village of correspondent witnesses government troops regaining control of the historic settlement. the use of force would be catastrophic not just for syria president putin addresses the american people as diplomats meet to find a way to deal with chemical weapons. the white house is accused of gagging big corporations with the c.e.o. of yahoo suggesting that even talking about the n.s.a. spying program could amount to treason top stories this hour. live from our studio center here in moscow where it's just turned eight pm this is r.t. with international news and comment the syrian army is battling small groups of rebels who remain in the ancient christian village of. opposition fighters linked to al qaida had been in control of the area for almost a week reportedly looting religious sites and forcing residents to convert to islam a gun point. made it to the village following reports that government troops have recaptured it but found pockets of resistance remaining. but. the mood is cheerful soldiers are smiling and r

it isn't standard weapons grade sarin that has been used and so therefore these are not standard syrian army munitions that would point toward syria rebel use rather than syrian military use possibly. by some estimates a punitive bombing attack against syria will stop the u.s. backed twenty billion dollars but arab monex is see a way out there offering to pick up the tab for washington and finance the entire operation otherwise for them it means relying on radicals in syria to do what the americans want. has war on the gulf off the u.s. secretary of state john kerry told lawmakers that if washington carries out a military attack against a mask it's on its own some arab countries have proposed to foot the bill for the entire operation and their cause top diplomat says the offer is currently on the table so in theory of for us in missile strike ends up being funded by arab. countries an offer that kerry secretary kerry says is on the table this essentially means that the u.s. military will be working as a contractor or a mercenary force or block water if you will for its arab partners mr kerry

the syrian army and the extremists a reign of terror in the christian village of ma lula our correspondent witnesses government troops are regaining control of the historic settlement. the use of force would be catastrophic and not just for syria president preacher addresses america's public and politicians as diplomats nice to find a way to deal with damascus chemical weapons. and ignorance is bliss' is a us university it borders its president cryptographer to take down an online investigation into n.s.a. surveillance threatening him with a lawsuit also he talks to the professor. and welcome to our team twenty four hour news live from moscow i'm hugh national profile top story now the syrian army's bottlings small groups of rebels who remain in the ancient christian village of opposition fighters links to al qaeda have been in control of the area for almost a week reportedly looting religious sites and forcing residents to convert to islam at gunpoint she's more if a notion of made it to the village following reports that government troops have recaptured it but found pockets of resistanc

the distinction ought to be kept -- >> how about the syrian army? >> what about the syrian army? how do they feel about us? >> they don't particularly like us, that's right. >> i don't know. >> i think they had a major defection the other day. maybe there are cracks. >> let me ask eric a question. if you had absolute confidence, absolute unequivocal confidence that assad used chemical weapons against these people, would you then agree with the attack? >> no, i think i would take assad out. i would do a osama bin laden, let's take out bashar al assad, instead of killing a bunch of people, really not sure who else we kill in the meantime, we may kill people that are friendly to us, syrian military. here is another thing, think about this one second. >> for the record here, you would not go in and take out, try to degrade. >> no. here is the other thing, once we go in and do this, bob, i think we're going to, when john boehner comes out and says i am for this, he will probably get the house vote, i am worried about reaction, i am worried what happens to israel, then do we have to de

but still, the preponderance of fight something by the free syrian army who are moderates.ey will not be governed by al-qaeda so to somehow say this is a conflict dominated by al-qaeda, that is absolutely false. >> neil: how do you know al-qaeda won't take advantage? >> i think they will take advantage of it. but i think the syrian people will reject them and i think the free syrian army can be strong enough. there are no good options. two years ago if we helped2tjese people, he would be gone. it's going toçó be very toughñró the president -- the status quo, bashar al-assad has the advantage and continues the killing fields that syria has turned into is obviously the least acceptable option. i don't pretend it's going to be easy but i pretend that -- to arm the free syrian army and give them a chance to succeed. it's the only way bashar al-assad is going to have a negotiated departure. >> neil: senator john mccain, thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> neil: when the president hit the pause button, senator rand paul went a step further telling the president to pull the plug. wha

the syrian army and the extremists will reign of terror in the christian village of our correspondent witnesses government troops regaining control of the historic settlement. the use of force would be catastrophic and not just the syrian president putin addresses the american people as diplomats means to find a way to deal with and sounds chemical weapons. and the white house is accused of gagging big corporations with c.e.o.'s suggesting that even talking about the n.s.a. spy program could amounts to treason. this is our c coming to you live from moscow hello and welcome to the program the syrian army is battling small groups of rebels who remain in the ancient christian village of opposition fighters links to al qaeda have been in control of the area for almost a week of reportedly losing religious sites and forcing residents to convert to islam at gunpoint he is more of a notion of made it to the village following reports that the government troops have recaptured it but found pockets of resistance still remain. the we're at. the top of. the mood is cheerful soldiers are smiling a