s advice and directive not to pursue independence through the united nations. and then avoiding direct negotiations with the state of israel. the most important strategic ally and friend the united states has in that region. but what are the consequences, or what would the consequences be to -- under a waiver to unesco, the body that actually voted in favor of the palestinians' request? i've got a couple of these, dr. rice.

there are so many ways in which the dollars we spend and the programs they support at the united nations advance u.s. national security interests. let's begin with one of the largest elements of our request, which is funds for international peacekeeping operations. the u.n. is present in some 14 countries and engaged in important life-saving missions to protect civilians in places like darfur and the democratic republic of congo. to help build the capacity of fragile states in which we have an interest in their success in places like south sudan and haiti and liberia. it is keeping the peace in fragile places from the golan to kotivore. these are places where we have an interest in security and stability, in protection of civilians, in helping to foment and stabilize fragile democracy. if the united states were to try to support this on our own rather than at a relatively better deal of burden-sharing of 27%, the cost to us would be enormous. or were we to leave these situations to fester, without the benefit of international peace-keeping presence, we would be suffering the longer term

and i'll bet you you hear this everyday at the united nations. they see it as a government that's gone too far in its brutality and putting down protests within their own boundaries. >> chargely, you have right now 65 international t.v. channels working around the clock to tarnish the image of syria. to mislead and misinform the international public opinion about what's going on in syria. i'm not saying that we don't have a dramatic situation in syria. i acknowledge this and we need people and governments from outside to understand and help putting an end to the violence. not every single syrian opponent has a ph.d. in philosophy to understand what's going on on the ground. i said it also many of these syrian opponents, even those who use arms against the government are naive. they are victims because they are being manipulated by the poet roll dollars coming from qatar and saudi arabia as well as from the satellite channels based in saudi arabia and qatar also. you have people everyday around the clock calling the public opinion and syrian peopl

the united nation conference on environment and development in 1992 where i headed the united states delegation, the expectations for it were much greater than for rio +20. one cannot but feel the sense of meeting fatigue, of resignation, of lowered expectations going into rio +20. i think it's probably a good idea to lower expectations for a conference, frankly. there are some very specific things, however, and i just went through them i thought in a compelling way that can be achieved there. and it will advance the cause. perhaps not as dramatically as what was achieved and agreed 20 years ago, but nevertheless, effectively to continue the country, the world, the environment moving in a better direction. now what rio did, i have a number of really indelible memories of rio. i think one of my most compelling is of flying back from a meeting that i had had with president calor and three of his minute stores and laid out the terms under which i would support president bush attending the conference. president calor said heads of state were waiting to see if president bush was coming an

support for and defense of israel in the united nations. and when it comes to unesco, look only at what israel is doing in its own interests. it is still voluntarily funding programs that it thinks are important. while we are not. >> ambassador, i have one question. we'll make another round, but you'll need to be concise in this to get to everyone. we're hearing reports that iraq may be facilitating arms shipments to syria to support the opposition, and so it's very disheartening. i would say what is the u.n. doing to investigate those allegations? and if they're found to be true and iraq really is in violation of its international obligations, what steps can we expect the u.n. to take? >> thank you, madam chairwoman. we have also heard such reports. they are of concern. we are certainly working assiduously to -- in communication with the iraqis and others to ensure that any shipments are not -- that they undertake their obligations to ensure that any shipments that may be transiting their territory are not in violation of u.n. sanctions. u

start with a roll of the united nations. good >> the un is playing hard huge role in international security. it has over 100,000 peacekeepers worldwide and ranging from haiti who liberia, and it has been playing a significant role in the global response to the arab spring. now it is in the thick of the conflict in some regard, but this is hard work, and the u.n. is sometimes struggling. there are cases where the peacekeepers do not seem able to stop wars from reigniting, and the u.s. presence in syria is still pretty tiny and does not look capable of halting the ongoing oppression there, so some great successes for the u.n., but some great crises, 2. >> we will put up some facts about the peacekeeping operations going on. you studied foreign policy at heritage since 1995. the question is as the u.n. still work in your mind? >> in some ways yes, in some ways know. you have to recognize it as a pretty limited instrument. in some cases it can be very effective. in other instances it cannot overcome the challenges facing it, and

what to use bank of the united nations ? how can it be strengthened in terms of creating globalization that is more effective and more consistent with our constitutional system? >> i would say the united states has a love-hate relationship. we are one of the countries to help founded in the city of san francisco where we are meeting tonight. at the same time the united states has often in the area that the united nations is, perhaps, most discussed in this country, often used force abroad without the permission of the united nations since its founding. if you remember, there have only been a handful of times that the united nations has approved foreign conflicts, far short of the number of was the united states has actually been involved with since 1945. on the other hand the united nations has performed some very useful functions. sometimes we ignore when we criticize the united nations for restricting the united states ability to use force. the nato countries. for example, the united nations is a useful forum for the conduc

fighting is continuing in syria, despite the united nations-brokered cease-fire that went into effect last week and the arrivalfnternational observers in the country. witnesses say the assad regime is still carrying out assaults in areas where anti-goveme relsrecte, but the united nations insists the fragile truce is still holding and remains intact. >>hiooge was purportedly shot this morning where an advance team of united nations observers was visiting. activists say dascus's campaign against dissidents claimed another 20 lives. the violence has concerned the internatna cmuty aut the observer mission's by ability, but united nations says the violence has become more sporadic, and they vowed to go ahead witthmiio the advance group's leader told reporters in terse words that his team was continuing to do its duty. bu team itself was also the target of protests according to activists. many people there seehe mission's prospects as dead on arrival. meanwhile, syria's foreign minister travel to beijing to meet with his chinese cotear cha has backed the peace plan laid out by united natio

china recently just days ago no the question is how can we abide by such a measure by under the united nations by the international community and as such i meant the you western union the western europeans let's say or the european community community and. their allies for sure the united states of america and other arab pan out of regional let's see enemy right now but they were friends to syria's national government i meant the qataris and the saudis for sure let us not forget the turkish also for which have not played positively enough the words the regime of president bashar assad and his own government inside syria today what about the fact that u.n. observers are in homs today there is a lull in the violence it's been one of the major syrian flashpoint is that really genuine authenticating a monitor to really getting an idea of what's happening there and indeed elsewhere in syria. i'm sure they already got enough stories or the numbers or statistics they have got photos through satellites and this is what the united nations should do before implementing such a measure by sending troops o

ambassador said that time is running out for the united nations. kofi annan says what do you replace the plan with? it is words. >> it is words, and i think that is why we are heading towards action. the question is -- what will those actions be? the immediate step is to back the opposition, and the more medium to long-term debt is -- is military action feasible? if so, what kind? >> thank you for coming in. for months, republicans have engaged in a bruising fight to become their party as a candidate to unseat barack obama in november. today, the field shrank with the sudden exit of vix santorum. the former senator had become the most viable opponent to governor mitt romney, who is now all but certain to become the republican nominee. it is over. rick santorum went further in the race than anyone would have predicted, but now, he has called it quits. that we made a decision to get into the race at our kitchen table against all the odds, and we made a decision over the weekend that while this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we will sus

confinement for months before trial found him guilty on all four charges one conspiring to kill united states nationals two conspiring to kill united states officers and employees three conspiring to use an acquire anti-aircraft missiles and for inspiring to provide material support to the for the forty four year old russian air cargo business and i'm fascinated hollywood running our recall. request. i don't we are any other over who lost his case in the court of u.s. public opinion long before his trial kicked off raising concerns about the fairness of his trial this is the lord of war. the merchant of death. and you've got him in your hands or he's in custody it's a great feeling u.s. officials were relentless in their efforts to get behind bars so-called merchant of death is now a federal inmate american agents posing as far members a colombian group to terrorist in the u.s. but not by many other countries and the u. when met with and then arrested in thailand in two thousand and eight after twice being found not guilty by thai courts the u.s. reportedly played dirty by arm twisting thailand into ex

it will be one of the biggest united nations conferences in the history. president obama -- crucial import again, as number one world economy, as the most powerful and leadership country. we count on the united states on everything we do. when it comes to united nations, 22-27% of their budget. regular and peacekeeping budget. when it comes to climate change, u.s. can play the most important role. that is why i had been walking very closely with u.s. president, former presidents bush and current president obama. and president obama has been very much committed and forward-looking and addressing global challenges. i hope that he will participate himself. g20 summit meeting. that is why force in a just take effect, we are put back to back -- synergistic, right after g20 i understand that all g20 leaders will be in moscow those in mexico. then after that just a few hours flight, they will have to come. the message has already been delivered to president obama and i believe that you all have to speak. you have to maybe better access to whisper to his ears. [lau

never have an international united nations conference during a presidential election year in the united states. well, we're doing it again, but somehow rio plus 19 or rio plus 21 doesn't quite do it. well, i started to talk about the compelling memory i have. it was flying back on prince charles' plane. i had met collor on "the brittan brittania" where i met prince charles and princess diana in the middle of the night leaning over to me and asking me if i would like to go back and watch "sleeping with the enemy" with her in the back of the plane, which i then did. that kind of blotted out a lot of the other less pleasant of the united states declining to commitment to timetables or having declined the biodiversity convention. who came out of -- what came out of rio 20 years ago was agenda 21, which i'm happy to say is now getting some salient, some prominence because the tea party has noticed it. they don't like it. they think it involves a secession of sovereignty in the united states. well, it basically is a litany of positive interventions, policies which have guided countless minist

why doesn't the united nations stop him? >> there's a system for documenting refugees and transforming them in shelter. turkey built two large container camps on the border. even these won't be enough if the numbers keep rising f that happens, the u.n. is expected to step in. >> our expectation is the promises given to mr. annan must be kept. it's essential operations should stop immediately, an army unit be withdrawn immediately. >> whatever syria promised, that withdrawal clearly is not happening yet. if anything bombardment of operation neighborhood has come fiercer of than any time in the year-long conflict. days before the deadline when all of this is supposed to start. jonathan head, bbc news, istanbul. >> meanwhile the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon has criticize the syrian government for pressing on attacks with -- for pressing on attacks on people who want president assad to stand down plfment ban said the use of the army should stop at once. security forces in bahrain have fired tear gas and water cannons to di

germany we were called back into the details of this relationship between frost and joey in the united nations security council christmas time really to be against. the united states and britain and backless in the balance taking up to the iraq war people will tell you very very briefly this could have a big impact on the e.u. at the moment if we do see so cozy go just briefly a u. economic mathematic very briefly. because there's even an appearance of goldman sachs in the european financial structures and so on i don't i don't think we can make predictions there's continuity but certainly so cozy was a cool. part of washington and perhaps your presidents a socialist president will give us a little bit more of its republican you know traditions. pendants poised on hold on loop other world scale as well as within the european union we shall try to hear from you once again thank you for your time a show chossudovsky live on the line from montreal. media currency crisis. cuts. tragic integration. who will be left standing with. the french election on r.t.e. . but life here in moscow with the twen

united states and other council members to handle the north korean situation properly. japan hopes to work closely with the u.s., south korea, china, russia, and other concerned nations. >> the united states and european nations are expected to condemn the north korean launch. russia is also expected to side with the western nations. the reaction of the remaining permanent council member, china, will be the key to the outcome of the council meeting. >>> china's leaders are calling for calm. the country often acts as a link between the north and the rest of the world. our susumu kojima tells us how the launch is playing out there. >> chinese state-run media has been giving friday's events in north korea front page coverage, quoting u.s., korean, and japanese media. however, some in beijing are still not sure. >> translator: did you hear the news? >> translator: no, not yet. >> translator: they say they failed. >> translator: i'll find out later. >> translator: what do you mean? north korea never fails. >> reporter: a foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters that the government is asking concerned nations to act calmly. >> translator: china is carefully watching how o

the united nations has given its formal backing to the peace plan put forward by the former u.n. chief kofi annan on thursday the united nations security council issued a statement on syria in which pushed for the syrian president bashar assad to adhere to his commitments and told the united nations that syria had pledged to cease all kind of movement towards population centers he also said that he was in contact with the opposition and urging them to stop financing at the same time he called for both sides and so political world now on tuesday also a united nations team arrived in syria they will be running the groundwork for a observer mission which is to come and then also preparing the scene for the april tenth deadline now that is the deadline according to the nuns then we also know that filing that they have on there will be always for the opposition to lay down arms with a final deadline being on april the twelfth at six am now the syrian regime has indicated that it has already begun preparing the ground work for observing that deadline the shooting government is committe

but that gross national product if we judge the united states of america by that that gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising. to play highway carnage it counts special ops. and the jail the people who break it counts the destruction of the redwood and a lot of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl accounts. and accounts nuclear. and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our city. count with rifles and night on the television programs which brought by violence in order to sell toys to watch children. at the gross national product does not allow the health of our children. their education or the joy of their play. it does not include the beauty about the strength of our marriage and the intelligence of a public debate for the integrity of our public officials. learned . compassion no i proposed to our country. measured everything and. accept that which makes life worthwhile and it can tell us everything about america . that's why we are proud that we are americans. just. the. it's a good the bad of the very very puts a lot of mostly ugly the go

discusses the role and effectiveness of the united nations and later, the congressional research service looks at the role of the 12th amendment in creating the electoral college which elects the president of united states. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning, sunday, april 29, 2012 and here are your headlines -- the republican primary is all but wrapped up by former speaker newt gingrich has reportedly delayed the date he will officially dropped out of the race. in washington, d.c. last night, it was the correspondence dinner, an event known as oscar night for politicians. we will get to all that and more but this week will mark the one- year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden. we want to know if you think the u.s. is set for today because of it. give us a call and let us know your thoughts. you can also send your comments via email and through facebook and director. a good morning to you. this week will mark the one-year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden and the headline in the "new york daily news" - that is from "the new york daily news" today. there

prooocation hat threatens the peace and safety offtheekorean peninsula and northeast asia." pthe united nationse actions.riceesays: "wee think it s important that the we will be working in that says: " the united states has already said t is ásuspendingá food aid to north korea, part of a deal made in &pkoreans were not supposed to launch any missiles. at the united nations, eric shaan, 3 &pdemocrrtic strategist hilary apology... after insuuting comment that romney had quote - "never worked a ddy in her life"... was not meant as a slam against stayyat-home mothers. 3 "being stay-at-homeemom ii a the home, not outside he home. she is lucky, though, that she hasschooce and she referred to thattherself. i admire tte way that she talks about her own life. many women &pdo not have the choice or the luxury of being a stay-at-home " mom."rosen's ccmment drew sharp criticism froo republicans and democrats.even president obama is weighing in on the controversy "i don't have a lot of patience for commentary about candidates. my general view is those of us ho are in the public life, we're fair game. our f

but it was seen claims terrorist activity has risen sharply as the rebels continue to shun the united nations broke its peace plan all of this coming up in just a few moments. miley's new military leaders agreed to hand power to civilians to end the sanctions imposed by the embattled african countries neighbors also. said. that all strains of knives we heard last livelihoods relentless constant record jobless leave investors cagey over whether the euro zone's fourth largest economy can really escape a bailout. it's five pm here in moscow this is archie coming to you live and he's in our way with our top story damascus blames armed terrorist gangs for the recent spate of violence in syria saying they've increased their activity ahead of the ceasefire deadline the u.n. though condemns the syrian authorities for the killings despite the pledge to pull back more now from our middle east correspondent told us earlier who joins us live paulo what evidence is there as to who is actually behind the recent spikes of attacks as we approach the cease fire. well in a message to the united nations secreta

chief kofi i'm not in essence this means that the mascot is in violation of a united nations security council statement on syria and according to that statement damascus has until april the tenth to get move on its troops and tanks from residential areas there was then a final deadline of six am april twelfth by which the opposition has to lay down arms and by which a total cease fire needs to be in effect now according to the united nations security council if this does not happen they will be to quote the u.n. security council third at measures and this is the strongest statement so far from the united nations what it does suggest though is that it is not binding and it does not have any kind of resolution of course but still it is a very serious statement for the u.n. security council to make damascus on the other hand says it has begun withdrawing its troops it says that there has been an increase in violence over the past few days that it puts the blame for that with the rebels and says that the rebels are being funded by countries such as saudi arabia qatar and turkey and that t

we are coordinating closely with the united nations peacekeeping missions in the region especially to promote civilian protection. we have encouraged the u.n. to scale up its efforts when possible. we are also working very closely with the african union to increase efforts to address the lra. last month the au officially launched the regional cooperation initiative for the elimination of the lra. united together, these is new initiatives is offer real promise. as the chairman kerry wrote earlier this month, the lra operates in very small groups across krs vast territories roughly the size of california. and very heavily forested. mr. chairman, effectively ending the threat requires simultaneously removing the top leadership from the battlefield and addressing the conditions that leave the community so vulnerable to the predatory groups such as the lra. that is why the united states is seeking to pursue a multifacetted four-pillar program, and that is to increase protection of civilians, the apprehension and removal of kony and others, the promotion of defections of the lra in support

government is at a of mri a withositive answers forou saye on 6:00 in the mor or of syria to the united nations,risis, bus ja'afari is here. his governnt it's not an armility operation council syrian ge uned nations estimats 9 calls armed g similarou has failed to meet number two, program. a thank you very much, i am responsible government and this is ann specially speaking more than speaking from tehran, united illions special envoy kofi annan work.xpressed optimism that enable to him succeed. are peohouplwokay. g >> if you will. nofi opposition forces would also stophat way? american violence and we stateme through the permanent delegn vie thr a today as to >> rose: the ambassador of syria he >> rose: the united states. define these peopleio he said it publicly inll read ye rorisis, but it is ais pity. every sinarmy as well al fightig o countries or between two counh march. t the other par callsnce the opposition as well asbassador s me now. supporters in th my government s pleased to be with you, charlie. trying to overthrow their own thisulatg these. > sldkay. >> if you speaking. we and wan

the united nations secretary general banking moon has condemned sudanese warplanes in south said on and called on the government to stop the fighting. omar al-bashir has ruled out negotiations with south sudan. we have been sent this report. >> it is the site that people have come to dread. soldiers and some civilians shot back with the small weapons they had. they were powerless against the modern warplane. at least two places were hit. the primary target was this bridge, which leads to the front line. this time, two of the rockets missed the bridge. nearby, several shops were destroyed by direct hits. at least one man was killed. the state government told the bbc three others were critically wounded and are not expected to survive. more than 75 civilians have been killed in air raids since the beginning of march. >> when our forces were blown, and an airplane coming today -- it killed three people and four shops. now we are suffering a lot. >> the bombing has been condemned by the united nations peacekeeping mission in south sudan. they have always denied carrying out cross border rai

national policy. ishihara returned from the united states on thursday. while in washington he says the tokyo government plans to purchase the privately owned senkaku islands in the east china sea. >> translator: the japanese government should be more vocal about its sovereignty over the islands. if the government steps up and underscores its territorial rights, tokyo will withdraw its offer. >> the senkaku islands are administered by japan and claimed by china and taiwan. ishihara's government plans to purchase the islands next april after a rental agreement between the central government and island's owner. >>> china's government is drawing the animosity of its neighbors. chinese officials are making efforts to boost their tro territorial claims over international waters. the state oceanic administration aflounce ennounced a plan to pr their environments. it classified a special category of islands serving as markers for territorial waters as being crucial for defense. chinese officials will bolster their claims over these islands by installing navigati

syria says it has started implementing a united nations- backed peace plan, which requires damascus to withdraw troops from towns and cities within a week and observe a ceasefire. forces are pulling back well ahead of schedule. >> the united nations says officials will be in syria in two days to monitor the truce. damascus has agreed to withdraw its military by april 10. right now, though, the situation remains volatile while. >> the violence continues despite the government's promise to continue pulling the army out of towns. these videos posted online today claim to show homs. they cannot be verified. the syrian government is still strictly controlling journalists' access. president assad says he will stop -- start pulling troops back from cities, and the process will be complete by april 10. but the opposition are highly skeptical. >> the government of syria is really honest, and this really play to way to implement the plan, why not stop firing now? if they are serious and honest about it, they will stop killing the people. >> despite international condemnation, there is no sign of

ambassador to the united nations, susan rice. can we call this a ceasefire when there have been so many violations on both sides? >> there have definitely been violations, particularly since saturday. the bulk of them have come from the government side, with heavy shelling in places like homs. this cessation that seems to hold for two days last week definitely looks like it is fraying. there is reason to question the government's commitment. >> what is the contingency plan if the kofi annan plan does not work and the cease-fire does not hold? >> the annan plan is a political process. it is humanitarian access for those who need it most. it is also the dispatch of a u.n. monitoring presence, the first contingent of which got on the ground yesterday. it has always been a plan that depends on the commitment of the syrian government as well as of the opposition. it is not something that anybody can impose on them. we have joined with many others, supporting maximum -- imposing maximum political and economic pressure on the government

the united nations security council has called upon the government to take concrete actions. the syrian government has ignored this counsel. in the united states our patience is exhausted. >> joining me from abu dhabi is rima. how will the presence of now 300 u.n. observers stop the violence? >> reporter: well, these 300 unarmed military observers are supposed to look after the cease-fire. they have to ensure that the cease-fire is happening. however, with all the decisions that have been made in new york yesterday, today just before noon four people have been killed already in syria, and there has been violence and shelling in one of the suburbs of damascus, the capital. the city of homs was under shelling and even the state news agency reported an attack on a train carrying bread, wheat, and six were injured in one of the cities in syria. so far violence is still carrying on. >> and, rima, any reaction to all of this from the syrian government? >> reporter: well, we have heard from the ambassador, syrian ambassador to the u.n. he said that the syrian security forces will ma