this might be the way out of iraq for us. and it turns out to have largely occurred the way patriquin wanted it to because the sheikh proved to be very e effective in fighting al-qaeda in this period, and tribes began to flip from neutral or pro-al-qaeda to the coalition side. in my book there are a few scenes of patriquin in action. one of them was when he first met the sheikh, and patriquin shows up with a moustache, he speaks arabic, slang iraqi arabic, and when he shakes hands and peats him -- meets him, he says what part of iraq are you from? are you from the north or the south? and patriquin would say something like, no, i'm from chicago. i'm an american. and they, many iraqis were befuddled by that because they thought he might be an iraqi who had left iraq as a child, gone over here and grown up and then came back with a funny midwestern accent. and, um, they met and quickly became very close allies in this struggle. he was, patriquin was a junior officer. he was only 32 at the time, and his commanding officers, lieute

he loved the food, everything about iraq. and another baghdad board interpreter told me i iraqis can like you but the love him for a lot of reasons. he had a magical personality and a trust will face. his presence was noted immediately. the iraqi slough to talk to men with a mustache. and he had a mustache, suntan, dark skin and muscular body and looks like an arab. beside that, his heart was connecting to these people for the average american soldier the iraqis can be hard to sit down and talk to but when they sat down to eat with capt patriquin they could tell he enjoyed eating with their hands as he did and he didn't take it. they thought he was telling them i will do whatever i can to assure you that i'm genuine. he gave the iraqi the most honorable and honest picture of the american people in the military in particular. they felt he was the true american heart. and this iraqi bourn enter worker concluded my god, there is no one in the world who could have formed a closer connection with the people than travis did. they ad

am boings across the country. iraq is in turmoil. in fact, my next guest says it is on the brink of disaster, and he would know. ayad alalawi has served as interim prime minister. he's now the leader of one of the main political parties. he is a rare secular figure in iraqi politics. he joins me now from baghdad. iyad allawi, thank you for being on. let me start with a question not directly related with iraq. when you were prime minister, you had to deal with iran, and so you have some sense of that government. do you understand what is happening in iran right now? do you feel that there is a real danger of some kind of confrontation with the united states? would they shut down the straits of hormuz? >> i don't think they'll go that far. however, they are using this as a rhetoric. but iran needs to change its attitude. it needs to change its performance in the region, i think. they should be less threatening. they should reconsider their policies. otherwise what iran is doing can lead also to greater risk in the region

the al qaeda headquarters attempting to launch an iraq. three things are obvious to 210 and his colleagues they had to attack with firepower had to rebuild the shattered police force toq reach out to the remaining tribal shake a lot of those have fled the war.r and aeronaut may laugh although only a junior officer, patriquin becamean did key liaison betweenin bludgeoning -- one change the war.o not only those americans who served in iraq but those who died and tried to help the iraqis to build a new nation and perhaps the best way is to hear what the iraqis say about him.. in the words of the man who sai created the awakening movement patriquin was an extraordinary man who played an important role he was my brother and spoke arabic and it looked like an arab man. and he came at the start of the awakening we need is a man like him he was humble and friendly and always helping me. he helped s us with weapons and h ammunition to deliver food to those who were inped trouble and defended women and children against the terrorists. is very importa

. >> if you total up all the time you spent in iraq and afghanistan, what are the numbers? >> a lot more time in iraq and afghanistan. at this time i did for trips to afghanistan. i think i spent four of the last six christmases there. it has been my life. >> you're how old? >> i am now 31. it has been a long decades. >> your college is what? >> nyu. i studied english. it's certified me to join the workforce. while i started at "newsweek" as an unpaid intern working for being is international. >> you say in your book that there are 27,000 working pr people in the pentagon spending $4.7 billion a year. 27,000? where did you get that number? >> it includes a broader number, not just propaganda folks. it goes from software programs. the pentagon is making auditors are social media. there has been a recent example where the army is using a program that monitors how may times bradley manning is mentioned. it goes through the massive public relations apparatus that all branches of the military have. i have often thought about this. there are more public relations people on a gener

the pictures were filmed by a journalist to has been given iraq access. and anti-government activists have accused the president and his government of misleading the arab league monitors by taking them only to pro-government areas. during the visit, the demonstrators in circle at the three algerian diplomats, many of them giving their own eye witness accounts of what they have seen. >> these women said one of their two brothers has died trying to save the other from being taken hostage by security forces. this man said his son had been shot by a sniper and then knifed to death as he was leaving a mosque. suddenly, while filming, a masked man drives up to distribute placards and banners carried this is the last one to be taken out says, observers, please help us. the monitors may have seen them. during their visit, they saw no violence. this was the same place at a different time of day. the pictures were filmed by an anti-government group. they shall locals running in panic as gunfire breaks out. this is what those opposed to the government wants the arab

and that is exactly what the strategy became. >> why did you think it was ok to go into iraq and not go after saudi arabia, who we actually sell weapons to, which you say undermines, worldwide, the western style of living. >> it probably made sense to go there in retrospect. it became very clear that this was one of the problems in iraq. and they are responsible for any number of american deaths. fairly early on, i am trying to remember, when he testified and said that he had nothing to do with iran. this is parallel to the vietnam situation. you had all of these activities going on in the countries surrounding vietnam. this -- if they are part of the problem driving terrorism, the focus on the iraq became a blind in one hand the fact that we must stand up as an ally in the war on terror, very quickly became nonsensical. >> we have a column from july 16, 2011. this is the case against general -- general petraeus. it seems odd to have to say, this also marks the beginning of a crack-up, a self-ignited blinder that blinds us to the global jihad. when did you begin to feel that strongly

strategic foreign policy problem that the united states has had since the failure of the war in iraq the war in iraq was meant to give them a stable pro western pro-business base for operations in the middle east what it ended up doing is making iran a great a regional power than it was before and so they've got to deal with this problem and this is what the sanctions are about but the sanctions as we know in the past as we know over the case of iraq indeed were the precursor to war they were a way of preparing public opinion for military conflict and therefore they are doubly dangerous in this case they're economically dangerous in the short term but as your news report has pointed out we're looking at now a conflict in the gulf of hormuz which is one of the main arteries of the world economy it really couldn't get more serious than this and of course the other big outcry over this that's not the mistake that we've heard from experts saying that china would be very glad to buy around all shipments if the e.u. refuses to so i guess by pushing for sanctions like this isn't the u.s. pro

people do horrible things that it's especially hard to hold one man responsible for the crimes of the iraq war when so many who should have been including the people who have led the u.s. into the war in the first place have not. now we have to take a break but coming up next inside i read it and business and political leaders are holding their annual meeting in davos so are these long list of programs all the. news and common to live broadcasting from the heart of moscow this is our t.v. and these are your headlines one year down the line egypt is celebrating the beginning of the revolution that president mubarak tens of thousands of people are now on top of the square frustration over the slow pace of change has cast a cloud over the party atmosphere. in the state of the union president obama pledges to fix the economy and create millions of new jobs in a speech widely seen as the start of a reelection campaign critics of his address say his agenda leaves the white house open to accusations of double standards and his upbeat tone doesn't reflect reality . and julian the songs are the kno

the moment more news with me and from now in the meantime it's all special report we reveal how the war in iraq proved to be the bloodiest in history for the journalists who were covering it that's next why for them i mean. i got him on my site. if. i can bring. the two thousand and three war in iraq was the bloodiest of the last decade so almost one million soldiers and civilians were killed and four and a half million iraqis became rich. in the outright thousands of journalists and media personnel company with. a war that was broadcast live all around the globe with the complexity of the first time to instantly and insist the put me in. after eighteen days of war u.s. forces into baghdad without encountering any particular resistance more than one hundred journalists and media workers covering the war from the iraqi capital are staying at palestine hotel. but the world had the feeling that the day would be an important day a critical day for the war in iraq. the marines and the u.s. army were so close to the hotel we could almost see their eyes still so hoarse. a medium i hear there on the lo

up because of the war they have turned into monsters. even today in iraq people who leave their homes to get work don't really know if they will return safely. their lives are threatened any time anywhere by the suicide attacks of al qaeda or other terrorist groups. cohen. but even for those who survive life is not the same anymore. remember in iraq we die a hundred times every day we die in various circumstances in the strait gatherings but in crowded places when explosions go off when blind attacks take place mostly by religious groups are professional faces constant danger and death every where death is more than a possibility in this job. since april two thousand and three more than three hundred people working for the media have been killed in iraq most of them where iraqi victims of executions obama attacks from al qaeda and other terrorist groups in minutes but the journalism all over the world is considered the king of the profession. in iraq it's called a disastrous profession or a deadly profession. because wherever journalist goes death is alway

the nine-year u.s. military mission in iraq. new york city says there won't be a parade anytime soon like the one after the first gulf war in 1991. pentagon officials say it would be premature with troops still in afghanistan. but in st. louis friends tom apple bon and craig schneider disash greed. >> like this national conversation in the media about should we or shouldn't we have a parade for the iraq vets? and that was like the first thing is like, well that's silly, of course they deserve a parade. >> reporter: that was less than a month ago. they started a facebook page and harnessed the power of social media. >> we didn't do there. we had an idea and we put up a call for help and as soon as we planted a flag, it wasn't -- at first the city rallied and then the country rallied. >> reporter: tens of thousands people lined downtown's main thoroughfare to cheer and sallude several hundreds of troops and vets across the country. the crowd heartfelt thanks. >> thank you. >> nothing more important than the people who protect our c

. >> police find a body of the iraq war veteran suspected of killing a ranger in a national forest. anchorage in budapest. did they say the new constitution is an attack on the mark -- anger in budapest. they say the new constitution is an attack. welcome to "newday." -- "newsday." the head of the arab league has said the syrian army has pulled out of residential areas. the killings continue and snipers remain a threat. observers were sent to monitor the violence. >> of the arab league observers have been in the country for a week. protesters want them to listen. these pictures are believed to be from close to the capital of damascus. their chants, people want international protection. there is disagreement about whether the mission is achieving anything. today in cairo, the arab league secretary-general said there had been progress. >> military vehicles and tanks have been withdrawn . they are now positioned on the outskirts. monitors have been able to provide food for the people and retrieved dead bodies. >> yes, there is gunfire. there are snipers. according to the account to rece

it is a concept that we tested while i was the commander in iraq. i thought it was a very successful test. i think i'm comfortable with that. so we'll mitigate the loss of the c-27. i'm not sure we will be able to completely mitigate it but that will help. >> is that part of the delay of the helicopter? >> do you feel the army is shouldering the bulk of the burden of these defense budget cuts? when we look on paper it sure looks like you're taking the biggest hit. also, how did you come up with the number 490? >> first, i really want to be very clear. this is not about winners or losers but coming up with the right joint force. i believe the army grew more than anybody else over the last five or six years as we got involved in iraq and afghanistan and that growth was very specific because we were worried about the tempo of our soldiers and units. we grew the army to meet the iraq and afghanistan. i'm comfortable that we are done with iraq and our commitments are coming down in afghanistan that we can do this. i don't see it as we are bearing the burd

extensive material that we can we provide it they printed story after story based on the leaks of the iraq and afghanistan war logs as well as the diplomatic cables they had. no problem using that information to sell more papers make a profit when it suited them and then of course they turned completely against society and started writing smear pieces about his dirty socks so as not to give the establishment the wrong impression so as not to be seen as being in cahoots with the man of the us government is leading a massive investigation against which charges of espionage they cared more about his dirty socks and they did about some of the real mistakes like publishing the names of informants so they are in my mind cowards and if you read michael hastings recent interview with us on to rolling stone seems like he feels the same way and so you can imagine the shock of the outrage and as mark out a man has put it today the pearl clutching that's been going on since this announcement was made this morning now it's perhaps the most ludicrous part of it all is that even the associated press whic

the war in iraq officially and finally ended last month. a parade in new york, or in washington d.c. the afghanistan war after all is still going on. but a grass roots effort, a really grass roots effort in st. louis has put the nation's first end of the iraq war welcome home parade on the calendar for this upcoming saturday. >> yes, i think we're going to make it, i think st. louis will not only make it but we'll lead the way for country, we'll set an example. >> the city it is taking motivating from the mayor's office to volunteers to housewives, to -- it's amazing, what is happening right now. really made us believe that impossible thing was nonsense. >> by day the guy you saw that, craig schneider works in educational technology in a st. louis school district. he puts the computers together and make sure they work. that is what he does by day. by evening and night and early in the morning he has been raising money for the parade. getting veterans groups together to welcome the troops at the end of the parade. craig and another friend rai

well we saw what the sanctions on iraq did in the lead up to the iraq war and invasion and they resulted in thousands and hundreds of thousands if not millions of deaths of innocent iraqi children that starved to death you know this is the one percent i proud to be part of the occupy wall street movement right here and in new york city and i and this is the one percent of the world the ruling elite the people who own the banks the factories the oil wells and all of that and just like they're waging war on working people here in the united states they're waging war against the iranian people they're waging war against people all over the world who want to stand up against them and that's why i'm so excited about the upsurge going on my enemies are in iran my enemies are in africa or in asia my enemies are right here in new york city on wall street it's the banker elite that runs this country and it's time we stand up against them so any threat of war against iran must be strongly opposed and they continue efforts to isolate them it can only hurt the people of the world and it can only ben

show before the iraq invasion he says they were under pressure from their bosses to root for because their owners benefited from it it was a constant pressure campaign. to make sure that the pro invasion voice was dominant jeff cohen says not much has changed in u.s. mainstream journalism since the iraq invasion there is no doubt that mainstream media are crucial in this idea of settling this idea that the u.s. is going to be on a per actual war media analysts say since the intervention in libya u.s. media have been instrumental in making americans get used to the idea that washington will continue to intervene militarily in foreign affairs i worked at newsweek and as well as a.p. and other major u.s. news organizations and the and what i saw especially in a place like newsweek was this idea that the media was actually part of the establishment that it was it was it was that the american people were to be guided more than even informed it seems most american media are so used to talking wars that went after a decade of the inconclusive war in afghanistan the white house announced the

the problem is the sample size is so small when they collect data -- think about this. iraq and afghanistan veterans less than 1% of the population. about 11% of those are women. so an even smaller population of an extremely small population. when they take sampling, a difference of two or three or four in a given month can swing it 5, 10 percentage points. this is something we need to work harder to get. we need an accurate picture of what's happening with our female vets. they a growing and critical sector of the veterans population. they need services that are on par with their male vets, they need not just job placement but health care and benefits. this is something iava has been aggressive on in the last few years. the next step is to figure out an accurate snapshot of where employment and health care are and with a small population it makes it really, really challenging. >> because of things like post traumatic stress disorder, do those serve as stigmas for those potentially higher? >> yes. the vast majority have adjustment issues. it's a process for everyone. you hav

the service of this generation of veterans. you know, i know a lot of vets who felt exactly like you did, who felt we should have gone into iraq years before. at the end of the day it didn't matter. it didn't matter how you felt, whether you loved or hated the iraq war, you had a job to do, you had a mission. when i went, i didn't go because of some political belief. i went because they were sending my soldiers and i'll be damned if anybody sends my soldiers into combat without me. i had a mission and that was part of my service. you don't join the military bass -- because of your political beliefs. you join the military because you want to serve your country and that type of service is really, really difficult. that's a testament to how great this generation is and how great all generations that have chose kren to serve in the military are, that they were able to do this, serve their country and come home and try to become leaders. >> an iraq vet from augusta, georgia. >> caller: how's it going, tom. joe santos. >> wow. >> caller: i was flipping through a channel and thought i'd call in. i appreciate what you're doing and i to

as we look beyond the wars in iraq and afghanistan and the end of long term nation building with a large military footprint will be able to ensure our security with smaller conventional ground forces the white house and the pentagon are committed to increasing its presence in the asia pacific region while maintaining cost savings by getting rid of expensive cold war era systems though according to reports there are no plans to mothball any of the eleven nuclear powered carriers that the u.s. navy has obama's plans were assailed by many republicans including several vying for the opportunity to run against him in november the president's proposals to dramatically reduce our defense spending in my view weakens our military and puts it at greater risk for the obama winding up his first and possibly only term in the white house the future of the department of defense may be left up to his successors in the from the or another republican candidate takes over the white house next january it seems unlikely that obama's policy would stay in place with the exception of congressman ron paul all th

road for direct military conflict and that in this case is even more dangerous than it was in the case of iraq. towards two from pair girl a political science professor from paris where shoot a verse to you says that by isolating iran western leaders are trying to improve their political standing ignoring the economic dangers of spells from an economic point of view it is not wise but you know from a political point of view this is grandstanding and political coming from leaders who are facing elections obama in the us and obama has very tough on iran because is accused by the republicans are being soft on iran and so cozy who is quite discredited in crans is trying to score a success so trying to bash iran something good for political reasons for this reader's on the domestic speech economically of course if prices continue to raise it would be very bad for the entire global economy i think the sanctions are likely to affect european countries as well and in fact i read that mario drag is asking for a delivery to leave because iran owes it to live a lot of money so maybe the sanctions are not

next we'll take a look at the deadly path taken by war correspondents uncovering the truth in iraq . i got it on my site. if. i didn't agree. with. the two thousand and three war in iraq was the bloodiest of the last decade so almost one million soldiers and civilians were killed and four and a half million iraqis became refugees. alone trying thousands of journalists and media personnel complete loop of. a war that was broadcast live the room to blur the complexity in the first time to instantly and insist the put me to see. after eighteen days of war u.s. forces into baghdad without encountering any particular resistance more than one hundred journalists and media workers covering the war from the iraqi capital are staying at palestine hotel. the whole world had the feeling that the day would be an important day a critical day for the war in iraq. the marines and the u.s. army were so close to the hotel we could almost see their eyes still so. many and i hear there on the local time i went out on the balcony and it was a very calm on and on and on shots were being had from a long di

benjamin barnes, a 24-year-old veteran of the iraq war is believed to have fled to the park after an earlier shooting that wounded four people in seattle. his vehicle failed to stop edit check point where -- at a check point. mr. barnes opened fire on a park ranger that was patrolling the chuck point the. . >> there are researchers involved in the search for the killer. ranger mark anderson spotted what. appeared to be a body in the primary search area. subsequently, this afternoon, a number of our tactical search teams were able to reach the body and confirmed that it was, indeed, the deceased primary suspect in this killing. >> benjamin barnes is said to have trouble returning to civilian life after his deployment four years ago. last year, he was involved in a custody dispute over his daughter. the park ranger who died -- margaret anderson -- is the first female park ranger killed in the line of duty. she is survived by her husband who is also a park ranger and two young children. >> the sports. arsenal in the headlines again. >> he may have had a new year's resolution -- he has b

the cold war, the iraq war, and the current war in afghanistan. do you see traces of "on war"? can you see traces of "on war" in those wars speak as well, more in the breach than in the observance of "on war." again, i recall in 2003 vice president cheney said as justification for the invasion of iraq that everyone knows that the offense is a stronger form of war. and, in fact, everyone might know this, but that category would include carl van clausewitz who argue quite the opposite. for reasons i think that are applicable to that particular case, and other cases. i think, clausewitz is convinced that time works for the offender and not the attacker. and that a strategy of attrition on the part of the defender will ultimately cause an attacker to modify his political objections. and this is of course a perfectly consistent with clausewitz strategic perspective because it's only -- his own country, prussia, had france as a next-door neighbor. if there was going to be any hope for prussian national survival, particularly after 18 to six when it had been completely smashed by fren

but the other major u.s. led war that of iraq proved to be the deadliest ever for reporters covering the conflict one journalist's journey is next on r.t. the footage kevin sites filmed with his video camera was not only unwanted but completely unsuitable for army propaganda. the invasion in iraq was to be i can ised with images of an overthrown tyrant in america. as the american troops chose that particular statue of saddam hussein because it was right across the palestine hotel there were hundreds of state use in baghdad but that they chose it because they wanted it to be thurmont it was not like in paris at the end of who are too many see when the parishioners who are out in the streets enthusiast agree welcome and the liberation forces the streets of baghdad were empty they use they were only in that square there was. all journalists who criticize the bush administration war plans got into trouble and some of them even lost their jobs in vietnam had resisted criticism kept the job goal for one hundred resisted criticism and k

well the other major u.s. led war that of iraq proved to be the deadliest ever for reporters covering the conflict one journalist journey is up next for you here on r.t. . zero. zero. zero. zero. zero. we got him on my side. i think riis. the two thousand and three war in iraq was the bloodiest of the last decades almost one million soldiers and civilians were killed and four and a half million iraqis became refugees. a war tragic thousands of journalists and media personnel from all over the world. all more that was broadcast live around the block. or complex or even the first time tentatively and insistently that put me. after eighteen days of war u.s. forces into baghdad without encountering any particular resistance more than one hundred journalists and media workers covering the war from the iraqi capital are staying at palestine hotel. but the world had the feeling that the day would be an important day a critical day for the war in iraq were going to the marines and the u.s. army were so close to the hotel we could almost s

talking about the man that was higher hired to ov the money in iraq. of the new documentary, and we are joined by our correspondent, you first told me and i was intrigued. my sense of desire to see this documentary has only grown in the weeks since. tell us more about the $40 billion that has vanished into thin air. >> thank you about the kind words. the guy we saw in the clip was a guy whose first name was bazal, he was a courrier in baghdad, and it was his job to be on the receiving end of pallets of cash strapped into airplanes and his job was to receive that money, about a billion dollars on more or so and then get that money down the most dangerous road in the world at the time, what the military called route irish and then safely into the vaults of iraq banks. he handled up to $40 billion in cash. >> now, eamon, tell us whose money this is specifically? the u.s. taxpayer may or may not be on the hook for that money, if it has disappeared. >> that is right. it's not u.s. taxpayer money. it's money held at the fed that is held for governments aroun