murder destruction and death and the international press the western press specifically the un security council have not protested at all and this is a major point it shows the hypocrisy of the western media the american media and the european media when it comes to iran. mr assad mohammad marandi professor of politics at the university thanks very much indeed for being here with us in the program and they were you know this is their. moscow says it will seek to bring victor book back to his country the thai court's decision to allow the extradition of a suspect arms dealer to the u.s. is seen by russia as political and made under pressure a thai appeals court delivered the final verdict after a lower court had rejected washington's extradition bit now but will be sent to the u.s. within three months he was arrested more than two years ago in bangkok in an elaborate operation led by u.s. agents washington once on charges of terrorism and supplying arms to colombian rebels which he denies can goodman publisher and author says boat is being extradited because he pose a direct threat to american b

the un security council has banned in emergency session to consider packs of stunning brutality. members gathered to express their brutality and the rapes of 150 women and children in the democratic republic of congo. it questioned why in nearby forces did not respond. they call upon the conflict to cease immediately or sexual violence against citizens. harsh words about what is a hideous crime. what else came out of this session? >> there was particular part rage because most people know and the council has dealt with this before, rape is an endemic weapon in the congo. the council has tried to come up with ways to protect civilians. this is a particularly brutal attack. peacekeepers did not hear about it until 10 days after it happened. there was some frustration at the attacks and a response. they did demand that all steps be made to stop the recurrence of this atrocity. it said that it should fight the kind of impunity that allows these rebels to keep doing this. there was a lively discussion about the role of the un peacekeepers. why they had not heard about these atrocities

security. this is not the competence of the un general assembly this is the competence of the un security council unfortunately so for there has been only discussion no common stance has been worked out and when it is worked out an irrelevant resolution is adopted this will be a major step towards eliminating draws production in afghanistan secondly the world community including the u.s. security council issued and a mandate each national security and stability assistance force once the building can be the arena state it has become a drug manufacturer base and cook with no stability a total of course more so in our view. with a un mandate that has to take an opera sponsibility for afghanistan's future should take care of that. and the mandate should include iraq war meant that the military force used to destroy production. companies and thirdly at the federal the fish and seal of the international program six consisting of ghana standing competence throughout threats the implementation of these programs is the answer to better security. transparent control of the international community but is th

. >> the un security council has condemned attacks by insurgents that killed more than 30 people, including at least six members of parliament, in the somali capital mogadishu the islamic gunmen disguised as government soldiers and approached the hotel and opened fire. five government officials and 21 civilians were also among the dead. the al-shabab group with links to al-qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack it becomes of the second day of heavy fighting between al-shabab and the troops of the trsitional gernmt, which is backed by the african union. spain has welcomed the release of two aid workers said been held hostage by a branch of al qaeda in northern africa for nine months. the group said it released the men because some of its demands had been met. the spanish media reporting the government paid a ransom for their release. >> family and friends welcomed the aid workers on their arrival at barcelona airport. the two, and one of the maed with a crash after being shot after his capture nine months ago, expressed gratitude. >> i want to thank everyone. i want to thank all the peo

threatened iran with attacks with bombardment with murder destruction and death and then the un security council have not protested at all and this is a major point that shows the hypocrisy of the western media the american media and the european media when it comes to iran. still ahead on r t we look at a while later russian arms dealer victor boot is wanted so badly in the u.s. plus ologies close up team takes to the high seas. for our journey by boat to one island that's excessively during the summer months on this island this is a village by the more people the more meaning well it's exploring the lives of the one addition they're asked. first though one of the suspected organizers of the moscow metro bombings in which forty people lost their lives has been killed in a shootout with russian security forces four other alleged militants were also shot dead during the special operation in russia's southern republic of dagestan or he's sean thomas reports from one of the metro stations hit by the deadly blast in march . officials are telling us that the mouth i'll leave the job of these has been

threatened iran with attacks with bombardment with murder destruction and death and then the un security council have not protested at all and this is a major point that shows the hypocrisy of the western media the american media and the european media when it comes to iran. still ahead here on our t.v. we look at why alleged russian arms dealer of buddhism was so badly by the u.s. last artie's close up team takes to the high seas. now on a four hour journey by boat. that's not excessive the summer months are designed when we're visiting a village accommodated by more people more meeting those developers and the exploring the lives of their traditions their last. first though one of the suspected organizers of the moscow metro bombings that killed forty people has themselves been killed in a shootout with russian security forces four other alleged militants were also shot dead during a special operation in russia's southern republic of dagestan r t shon thomas reports from one of the metro stations hit by the deadly blast in march. officials are telling us that the mouth of how we put up all the

and brian johnson thomas former arms trafficking expert the un security council thinks that eventually whether it's fair or not think to boot will be extradited to the u.s. . i'm not quite clear why the americans have fought this case so today actually maybe just about the money they spent on the sting operation but certainly they're very very keen to get back to to the states. the consequences that will follow i think ritu point one is that the reason why they dropped the money laundering charges may be that they can concentrate purely on the sting operation where viktor is alleged to have agreed to supply weapons to the far if that happens then the court in america may also be directed not to look at anything other than the sting operation so they will not be able to bring into court and to open court the many times when victor was of some service to the pentagon or whoever else i think that picture will go to america he will go on trial in manhattan and he will be found guilty on the narrow charges of of agreeing to supply the park i don't think that's necessarily fair but that's wh

threatened iran with attacks with bombardment with murder destruction and death and the end of the un security council have not protested at all and this is a major point it shows the hypocrisy of the western media the american media and the european media when it comes to iran well still ahead for you this hour an r.t. we'll look at why russian arms dealer viktor butties wanted so badly by the united states. but first one of the suspected organizers of march's moscow metro bombings in which forty people died has been killed in a shootout with russian security forces four other alleged militants were also shot dead during the special operation in russia's southern republican dagestan r.t. shaun thomas has more. officials are telling us that the map how we build up our. has been killed in an operation in the southern republic of the south this time along with four others now and this is important because he is wanted on the federal and international most wanted list more than two years he's also thought to have ties to sharif about one of the two suicide bombers blew themselves up on march twenty ninth

about this complex case not joined by brian johnson thomas former arms trafficking expert the un security council there in birmingham u.k. thank you for joining us here on r.t. now the extradition ruling came out after the u.s. administration reportedly someone the thai ambassador in washington well the u.s. ambassador met with toy authorities so all of high powered effort over this case and to ing and fro ing what does all this reveal that. i think they've placed a very high priority on the arrest of victims because they've seen in the american media out of the merchant of death when i would agree. that he's not quite the pivotal character that can seem to pretend to you so how far are the thai authorities ready to go in your opinion why the about face in court rulings and cleared of all charges last year the extradition now what's what's actually going on i think the problem is that if you actually look at american law. as it stands the victim is probably guilty as the case i was parallels of the case last year where another one called monster. was sent down for a long period for trafficking ag

security council was losing a grip of this issue. >> well, from the cold war, of course, the security council was paralyzed. the security system of the un did not work during the cold war, but i think it changed completely with the end of the cold war. in 1991, 1990 the russians and the others went along with the action against iraq, and bush the elder, the president, said that this was a new international order. well, that collapsed with his son and i think that the world has changed dramatically with the end of the cold war. it is only recently in the last few years some american statement with samman and others have said, well, we ought to re-discover, the cold war is over. so the security council in my view was not paralyzed in the 1990's. they are still not paralyzed. that's why it is reasonable to look to it and to have respect for its decisions. >> thank you. what i want to ask you about is the various assessments that were published on iraq's weapons of mass destruction. there is a number published in 2002, the 9 september one by the institute for strategic studies, the british government's dossier of september and then there wa

well companies from china, russia, the u.s., britain, france -- all of the countries of the un security council, but many others as well. if all of these cringe -- all of these contracts are realized, or ron will be producing oil in the neighborhood of what saudi arabia produces. in other words, it is going to be a major player in the oil market, a year with its own oil. this was never about the u.s. taking its oil. the u.s. share of these contracts are fairly small. we had a big one, but only two of the major oil companies are actually u.s. iraq will be a major player. it will be economically successful, it is a matter of time. you can see the economy growing day by day. you can see a nascent development of basrah, you can e the developments in kurdistan. once i went up to see a shopping mall there which had a food store on the ground floor, and on the third floor there was a bowling alley, believe that are not. things are happening in iraq. they are -- there are continuing pockets of very difcult security issues, mosul is one. if you talk to the security of there, you'll hear that it was neve

was a concern that the security council was losing a grip of this issue. >> well, from the cold war, of course, the security council was paralyzed. the security system of the un did not work during the cold war, but i think it changed completely with the end of the cold war. in 1991, 1990 the russians and the others went along with the action against iraq, and bush the elder, the president, said that this was a new international order. well, that collapsed with his son and i think that the world has changed dramatically with the end of the cold war. it is only recently in the last few years some american statement with samman and others have said, well, we ought to re-discover, the cold war is over. so the security council in my view was not paralyzed in the 1990s. they are still not paralyzed. that's why it is reasonable to look to it and to have respect for its decisions. >> thank you. what i want to ask you about is the various assessments that were published on iraq's weapons of mass destruction. there is a number published in 2002, the september 9 one by the institute for strategic studies, the british government's dossier of september 20 and then there

the fact that iraq now has all the major countries, including all the current members of the un security council with the enormous investments in iraq's mineral sector, i need you concede there is potential there that will be more problematic for afghanistan. one has to be really careful of these kind of cartoon comparisons. certainly, we have the right strategy in iraq. it is clearly going in the right direction. i would be much happier today if there was a new government formed. i would be much happier if they were arguing with each other and the council of representatives. that day will come. >> at the risk of raising afghanistan and iraq in the same sentence again -- the question of resources and high- level attention, as the situation in afghanistan gets more and more difficult, do you leave fearing that iraq could wind up, just by virtue of limited bandwidth, not getting the sustained high level of attention and resources that it needs and the policy engagement that you described? >> this is the charlie wilson's war scenario where we forget about afghanistan and the rest is history. i have

, the fact iraq now has all the major countries, including all the permanent members of the un security council with enormous investments in iraq said mineral sector, i think you can see the potential there which will be more problematic for afghanistan. again, one has to be really careful of these types of cartoon comparisons, but certainly we have the right strategy in iraq. it is clearly going in the right direction. however been much happier today if there was a new government formed. i would be much happier if they were once again arguing with each other in the council of representatives, but that day will come. do i take a question from mark here? >> at the risk of raising afghanistan and iraq in the same sentence again, my question is about a question of resources and high-level attention. as the situation in afghanistan gets more and more difficult, do you leave fearing that iraq could wind up, just by virtue of limited bandwidth, not getting the kind of sustained high-level attention and resources that it needs for this policy of engagement that you have described? >> i have to tell yo

concern about the daily like the progress on the ambassador it -- on the implementation of un security council resolution 1701. on june 8, senator casey's subcommittees' held a hearing that highlighted the intransigence of hezbollah, which continues to act counter to lebanese interests and regional stability and poses a daily threat to peace. our ambassador to lebanon is a key figure in persuading the hard rock -- i read -- hariri government's to withstand the counter pressures and support the programs in which americans have invested more than $1 billion in 2006. terrorists have struck americans in yemen and we require a clearly articulated policy for curbing the terrorist threat there. let me conclude by just asking for your reaction initially to these figures which are so impressive about the new civilian presence in the far right? likewise all the security that must be provided for them. had you in any way been an adviser to this process? do you have any editorial thoughts about all this? >> thank you, senator. first of all, i have not been confirmed and have had no role in putting this to

the fact that iraq now has all the major countries, including all the current members of the un security council with the enormous investments in iraq's mineral sector, i need you concede there is potential there that will be more problematic for afghanistan. one has to be really careful of these kind of cartoon comparisons. certainly, we have the right strategy in iraq. it is clearly going in the right direction. i would be much happier today if there was a new government formed. i would be much happier if they were arguing with each other and the council of representatives. that day will come. >> at the risk of raising afghanistan and iraq in the same sentence again -- the question of resources and high-level attention, as the situation in afghanistan gets more and more difficult, do you leave fearing that iraq could wind up, just by virtue of limited bandwidth, not getting the sustained high level of attention and resources that it needs and the policy engagement that you described? >> this is the charlie wilson's war scenario where we forget about afghanistan and the rest is history. i have

well companies from china, russia, the u.s., britain, france -- all of the countries of the un security council, but many others as well. if all of these cringe -- all of these contracts are realized, or ron will be producg oil in the neighborhood of what saudi arabia produces. in other words, it is gog be a major player in the oil market, a year with its own oil. this was never about the u.s. taking its oil. the u.s. share of these contracts are fairly small. we had a big one, but only two of the major oil companies are actually u.s. iraq will be a major player. it will be economically successful, it is a matter of time. you can see the economy growing day by day. you can see a nascent development of basrah, you can see the developments in kurdistan. once i went up to see a shopping mall there which had a food store on the ground floor, and on the third floor there was a bowling alley, believe that are not. things are happening in iraq. they are -- there are continuing pockets of very difficult security issues, mosul is one. if you talk to the security of there, you'll hear that it was never h

was a concern that the security council was losing a grip of this issue. >> well, from the cold war, of course, the security council was paralyzed. the security system of the un did not work during the cold war, but i think it changed completely with the end of the cold war. in 1991, 1990 the russians and the others went along with the action against iraq, and bush the elder, the president, said that this was a new international order. well, that collapsed with his son and i think that the world has changed dramatically with the end of the cold war. it is only recently in the last few years some american statement with samman and others have said, well, we ought to re-discover, the cold war is over. so the security council in my view was not paralyzed in the 1990s. they are stillot paralyzed. that's why it is reasonable to look to it and to have respect for its decisions. >> thank you. what i want to ask you about is the various assessments that were published on iraq's weapons of mass destruction. there is a number published in 2002, the september 9 one by the institute for strategic studies, the british government's dossier of september 20 and then there wa

well companies from china, russia, the u.s., britain, france -- all of the countries of the un security council well. if all of these cringe -- all of these contracts are realized, or ron will be producing oil in the neighborhood of what saudi arabia produces. in other words, it is going to be a major player in the oil market, a year with its own oil. this was never about the u.s. taking its oil. the u.s. share of these contracts are fairly small. we had a big one, but only two of the major oil companies are actually u.s. iraq will be a major player. it will be economically successful, it is a matter of time. you can see the economy growing day by day. you can see a nascent development of basrah, you can see the developments in kurdistan. once i went up to see a shopping mall there which had a food store on the ground floor, and on the third floor there was a bowling alley, believe that are not. things are happening in iraq. they are -- there are continuing pockets of very difficult security issues, mosul is one. if you talk to the security of there, you'll hear that it was never handled proper

armed attack and the other is when there is an authorization from the security council, but the us here did not even refer to the un charter article 2, paragraph 4 or article 51, but simply said that in the time of nuclear weapons and of missiles this doesn't apply. of course, this was against the background of 9/11 and the whole reasoning that with 9/11 you cannot sit and wait for a danger growing. if you do that, then it gets too late. you have to do something before. well, that is a very fundamental issue even today, because if you say that you must wait for the attack to occur before you can do something, well, then it is rather late. on the other hand, if you say that you can take action before that, then you have to rely upon intelligence. there is something in between this and that is the imminent threat which already came up in the 19th century with the famous case between the uk and the us. if you don't have to wait until they cross the territorial border, but if you see the rockets coming, then you can intervene. well, that was probably not good enough for the united states. we have seen other strains on

if we do not send a strong signal to the un general assembly on an inch from reform for the security council, it will be as follows. we have been debating the reform in the severe it -- in the security council for 20 years. will that continue for another 20 years? what is the point of asking our israeli and palestinian friends to negotiate if, at the un, we cannot implement a reform that is indispensable and which nobody wishes to play its cards clearly? we need this interim reform. i spoke to you at length about the g-20. i would like to say a word about the g-8. some have said that it is condemned. others believe that it has a rosy future. if it refocuses on security issues, france intends -- france believes in the future of the g- 8. it will prepare the g-8 summit. it will bring -- it will take place next spring. the g-it brings together the major democracies who have a lot in common. the g-it will be preceded by they home secretary -- the g-8 will be reapreceded by the finae ministers. there will be a discussion of partnerships with africa. i am more than ever convinced that africa's suc

, and the un charter in 1945 took a giant leap forward in this and said, "no, it is prohibited to do except in the case of self defense and armed attack or authorization by the security council." well, here in the case of iraq you can see how the uk in the summer 2002 or the spring 2002 said, "yes, we might, but it has to be through the un power." self-defense against an armed attack was out. regime change was out. straw was adamantly opposed to a regime change. authorization by the un, yes, that's the path. so they insist upon 1441 and they get it, but it is a gamble. 1441 is if they had shown or if the iraqis had continued to obstruct, as it was expected, then they could have asked the security council for a second resolution and said, "look, they are obstructing and we now ask for authorization." they never knew whether they would get that. eventually they had to come with i think very constrained legal explanations. we see how mr. goldsmith, lord goldsmith now, wriggled about and how he himself very much doubted that it was adequate, but eventually said, "well, if you accumulate all these things, then that gives a plausible --" he was not quite sure that it would have st

security council for 20 years, and will the deadlock continue for another 20 years? what is the point on purging our israeli and palestinian friends to negotiate it at the un we cannot implement reform which is indispensable in which nobody wishes to play its cards clearly? we need the interim reform. and i spoke to a blank about the g-20. i would like to say a word about the g-8. some condemn that, some say it has a rosy future. it focuses on security issues. france intends -- france believes in the future of the g- 8 and will take great care to prepared this g-8 summit. it will take place next spring. it brings together the major democracies to have a lot in common. this g-8 will be preceded by the home secretaries and ministers of the interior of the countries concerned. they will discuss some of it -- such as of common interest from a run to the middle east to afghanistan. there'll also be a discussion on partnerships with africa. i am more than ever convinced that africa success will be an opportunity for africa. africa's failure would be dramatic for europe, for the future of europe and africa are closely tied. in copenhagen, we tried to get africa and europe