dodge the united nations is meeting to discuss sending a west african intervention force , approving a force to help defeat rebels in december. the nigeria and others have pledged troops but they can't get their home until september due to logistical problems. >> at the end of the day, the real solution will be a political solution. we want to support the political process and reconciliation in the north and the south. negotiation with the armed groups which will save them from terrorism. >> we have more from the united nations headquarters in new york. >> france has been urging west african states to send peacekeepers as soon as possible. they have authorized a force to operate in france would like it to take the place of their soldiers in the near future. the european union will be meeting in the coming days to discuss its training mission. it has said it will send 250 shoulders -- soldiers to train the army. and >> he wants parliament dissolved by tuesday morning according to state media reports. they began their journey on sunday. the religious leader is calling for an end to gov

military leaders from west african nations are discussing plans to send thousands of soldiers to mali had a schedule. french forces have been bombing rebel territory in northern mali for the past five days. france sent 750 soldiers to the capital and more are on the way. western countries have been pressing west african leaders to send in troops, which were not expected to arrive until september. rebel groups captured large parts of the country last year and are now seizing towns in the government-controlled south. spiders have occupied a town 400 and miles north of the capital. rebels also have bases in the cities farther north. the french intervention began last week after the rebels threatened to push towards the capital. muhammed, how worried are people at the rebels continue taking more territory? >> it is causing a lot of undies across mali. the people in the south are generally fearful the rebels might not be held just by aerial bombardment and that there's great need for ground troops to go in as quickly as possible. mali's army is weak and most of its equipment was lost or so

the french foreign minister has called on west african leaders to take the lead in the military operation in mali. syrian activists are reporting heavy shelling as the u.n. delegation arrives in the capital damascus to assess the humanitarian plight. >>> in the central african republic, 66 children are facing the threat of death, even though they are in the care of the un's children it agency. unicef took them under protection last month said it would not be recruited as a child soldiers. andrew simmons reports on the threat to these children's, despite the peace deal. >> she is a teenager and should be at school. instead, she is part of a rebellion that has a fragile peace agreement. it is children like these embroiled in an extraordinary standoff between the government and the united nations. at stake, the lives of 66 children rescued from becoming child soldiers, now threatened with death and the care of unicef. >> if that happens to them, i will be responsible because i was the one to make the decision. i will be responsible. for sure, i wanted to save the lives of those children. >>

the west african states have pledged 3300 who are scrambling to get themselves organized. they may not have the capabilities to do this alone and it may be that the french have to remain there. the chaddians who have a very competent, capable army which is used to this des zrts terrain knows the players, knows the dynamics, they've pledged 2,000. the strike against algeria may prompt the algerians to get involved and they will be pivotal in this for their intelligence, their military capabilities and political connections with some of these. all along the u.s. has rightfully insisted on working on the political issue, who is the interlock eter, even if you are successful militarily who dow turn this vast region over that has never been governed effectively, actually. and they pledged robust support to the west african troops and logistics and communications, they've put options on the table in terms of refueling, surveillance drones, airlift for the french. and certainly hud had the chaddians get involved they'll be there as well. they don't want to get suck mood this dire

nigeria has meanwhile agreed to op its military presence to over a thousand troops as part of west african led support forces the un meanwhile says that up to seven hundred thousand people could be displaced by the fighting with one hundred fifty thousand already having fled the country columbia university researcher dr yunus of the u. says that the french intervention is probably rather loose sparked by the economic interests of the west. the konami crisis has shown that the western developed countries have. lost the economic competition against the new. players china russia south africa the brics countries basically you know that tending to militarize this competition trying to expel the chinese from the region the natural resource is very important especially when you know because it's a very necessary element and resourceful friends this is basically a new fight and competition over the resources of the african countries this is going most probably to spread in the region it's going to affect definitely libya because this is the largest border between mali and libya this and i see drug

as the french intervention looks if you look into mali now most people support it most of the west african support it because this mom is had taken over about sixty percent of the country way back in the summer and just last week they started moving south they are now about three hundred miles or about four hundred kilometers away from the capital now friends did it for its own interests by the hop industry is helping the africans the west african foot soldiers will get into their country now from. it's about five hundred troops and he's using the strikes and we should say to you i mean that in light of sort of what happened over the weekend we've heard from united kingdom germany and even the united states they have pledged their support now so talk about how that support my affect things moving forward here because. i had wanted it to happen earlier the u.n. blessing of support india africa has to take hold of the country and bring some order and democracy it took a long time in the security council but finally in december twenty two resolution unanimously twenty five but you have to mak

west african leaders have asked for urgent aid to help those in mali fight against the rebels. rican nations need to take the lead in military operations. joining us live from the capital, what is the latest on the fighting? >> we have heard reports from the north overnight back french bombers have been in action against targeting timbuktu. the reports we have heard speak about three airstrikes on sunday. the first two were within half an hour of each other to the northwest of the city. then there was a report of another air strike to the north of timbuktu where the rebel group was. and is unclear whether the vehicle was carrying explosives. on the ground, the latest we have had are those by the strong as supporters of the french military regaining the town and also this village that fell to the rebel forces after the french air strikes began. it was important from a strategic and a psychological 0.0 view to push the rebels back from that village. >> there pushover african troops to take over this intervention. this intervention was not supposed to start until much later this ye

. >> the french soldiers expect to be joined by soldiers from neighboring west african countries. britain and the u.s. are offering logistical support. >> and canada has promised france air transport. there will be a meeting this week to discuss the crisis. i asked our brussels correspondent what sort of support france could expect from other eu member states. >> eu representatives have formally ruled out the option of military intervention. the most likely outcome will be that we will find out more about the training mission that is planned, where the eu plans to train malian soldiers to combat on the ground. it is an issue that african soldiers will have to deal with. the eu does not want to get involved too much. we will find out more about the training mission. >> are there any dissenters? this is a job for nato -- and who are saying this is a job for nato? >> nato can only intervene if france formally request aid, and it has not done so. this is a job that has to be done by the ecowas, by the west african soldiers on the ground come together with mali -- on the ground, mali t

islamist rebels advancing in mali, and confirmation french troops are on the ground to support the west african countries. what's after talking with his afghanistan counterpart, president obama says they will take a support role in afghanistan this spring. >> it is election time in germany and the chancellor's competition's popularity plunges. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> hollande has announced the french troops have gone on an intervention in mali. this came a request for help out to the west african's country's president. >> they're continuing their drive southward. they already control two-thirds of the former french colony. >> they are on advance. they are now threatening to take this out as well. they are reported to have overrun the strategically important town in central mali. the army has so far been unable to recapture it. as the year grew that they could establish a safe haven for as long as the militants, there was growing pressure for assistance and now france has started military operations. >> french army forces gave their support this after

islamist rebels advancing in mali, and confirmation french troops are on the ground to support the west african countries. what's after talking with his afghanistan counterpart, president obama says they will take a support role in afghanistan this spring. >> it is election time in germany and the chancellor's competition's popularity plunges. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> hollande has announced the french troops have gone on an intervention in mali. this came a request for help out to the west african's country's president. >> they're continuing their drive southward. they already control two-thirds of the former french colony. >> they are on advance. they are now threatening to take this out as well. they are reported to have overrun the strategically important town in central mali. the army has so far been unable to recapture it. as the year grew that they could establish a safe haven for as long as the militants, there was growing pressure for assistance and now france has started military operations. >> french army forces gave their support this after

. >> the french soldiers expect to be joined by soldiers from neighboring west african countries. britain and the u.s. are offering logistical support. >> and canada has promised france air transport. there will be a meeting this week to discuss the crisis. i asked our brussels correspondent what sort of support france could expect from other eu member states. >> eu representatives have formally ruled out the option of military intervention. the most likely outcome will be that we will find out more about the training mission that is planned, where the eu plans to train malian soldiers to combat on the ground. it is an issue that african soldiers will have to deal with. the eu does not want to get involved too much. we will find out more about the training mission. >> are there any dissenters? this is a job for nato -- and who are saying this is a job for nato? >> nato can only intervene if france formally request aid, and it has not done so. this is a job that has to be done by the ecowas, by the west african soldiers on the ground come together with mali -- on the ground, mali t

is offering logistic and intelligent support for the french military intervention in the west african nation of mali. the operation is described as a new front in the war on terrorism. charlie d'agata has more. >> french fighter jets bombarded islamic militant strongholds in northern mali today and military officials vowed there will be many more air strikes to come to protect its former colony. france has deployed more than 500 troop to its west african nation to stop al qaeda linked militants from turning it into a safe haven for terrorists. islamic militants seized control of a vast desert area in northern mali nine months ago. since then they have been posed an extreme form is 4r578ic sharia law public amptation an beatings are commonplace. mali's music, an important part of the country's culture has been silenced. the militants have banned the annual music festival in timbuktu. national security analyst juan zarate. >> what you have in mali is a safe haven for al qaeda an aggressive terrorist group, an organization and one that presents a threat to the stability of mali and the r

. >> nigeria is sending 200 soldiers as part of a multinational west african force that will number moren 3000. let's look at where the troops are headed. french soldiers have already joined the mali troops 400 kilometers north of bamako. nazanine moshiri is in the capital. where are french troops now exactly? are they in rebel-held territory? >> diabaly is a town which is in the government-controlled area, in the north. the french are surrounding the town, from what we understand, with malian forces. there have been reports that there might of been some engagement on the ground, but we cannot confirm that. we have been trying to get through to people in diabaly, but the phone lines and mobile lines have been cut off, so it is very difficult to get information on the ground. it is interesting that the french had consistently said they would only be striking from them and giving logistical support, but now it seems they are carrying out their first land offensive. the french have 800 troops here on the ground. they have said they will double have said theye will double back to 2000 forces

germany is giving logistical support to the french military in the west african nation. two german military transfer aircraft left a base in mali and expected to land in the capital on saturday but will be based in neighboring senegal. they will be used to help transport west african troops to help quell the rebellion. >> the united nations' nuclear watchdog says it has again failed to reach a deal with iran in talks over the country's nuclear program. >> the announcement by the international atomic energy agency follows two days of intense negotiations with tehran. inspectors are trying to get access to a military site, which is allegedly used to test components for nuclear weapons. iran, though, denies that and underscores its right to nuclear research for civilian purposes. in -- another meeting is scheduled for february. >> all right, some business news now, and the chinese economy has beaten expectations for the final quarter of 2012 after nearly two years of relatively tepid performance byhe world's secondargest economic power. gross domestic product rose by 7.9% a

forces have engaged rebel forces 400 kilometers from the capitol, and military chiefs from the west african bloc concluded a meeting with a promise to speed up deployment of 3300 african troops. sources at the meeting say niger and nigeria are ready to sending their troops now, while other countries will send theirs in next week. in bamako, we met the young men who say they are willing to join the fight to free northern mali. members of the malian youth league -- they are eager for a fight. >> we rode to the ministry of defence asking for guns and to be taken to the front lines. we have been taken after training -- we are ready to defend our people. >> but with the impending deployment of west african troops and international support, it is unlikely >> the top stories on algeciras this hour. president barack obama has announced his gun control measures -- his proposals include a ban on assault rifles and a limit to high-capacity magazines. he is likely to face strong opposition from congress. federal officials are grounding until's dreamliner addresses -- problems with the lithium batteries

germany is giving logistical support to the french military in the west african nation. two german military transfer aircraft left a base in mali and expected to land in the capital on saturday but will be based in neighboring senegal. they will be used to help transport west african troops to help quell the rebellion. >> the united nations' nuclear watchdog says it has again failed to reach a deal with iran in talks over the country's nuclear program. >> the announcement by the international atomic energy agency follows two days of intense negotiations with tehran. inspectors are trying to get access to a military site, which is allegedly used to test components for nuclear weapons. iran, though, denies that and underscores its right to nuclear research for civilian purposes. in -- another meeting is scheduled for february. >> all right, some business news now, and the chinese economy has beaten expectations for the final quarter of 2012 after nearly two years of relatively tepid performance by the world's second-largest economic power. gross domestic product rose by 7.

in fact, a statement from the foreign ministers invited or encouraged a group of west african countries to engage more directly now on the ground. this is seen not necessarily in any way as an eu matter, but very much something for france because of its historical ties to mali and the west african troops because of the geography, and at a bigger level, for the united nations to intervene if it wants to, but there is no doubting the eu's commitment in terms of finance and military expertise, military equipment to help france resolve this crisis quickly. one of the main things that the eu foreign ministers have confirmed today is the dispatch of troops, not for fighting, as i say, but for training -- to train malian forces so they are competent to take over from french troops. the mission will be from the country's 500 troops, probably, a gauge in training of forces -- the mission will be from many countries 500 troops, probably, engaged in training up forces. it takes time, and who knows what the situation will be by then? but that is as much as is on offer from the foreign ministers at

was established after the cool and the original organization known as the economic community of west african states as well as the african union so different to intervention actually followed many attempts by the original organization and they are incapacity actually to handle discussion on the ground here in mali because we were having. bigger numbers of these. really displaced people and bigger numbers of refugio and we had. part of the country being occupied some of the go in to and with no resistance. and with no administration at all and we know him aquatic institution such as. president in place and it could do this jury system so you had all these events happening and i think the french decided then to intervene because had they not been the day they did the extremist islamic jihad the forces and groups who would have been in bamako by now i wouldn't probably be talking to you the way i'm doing now so why it took so long i guess we can find the nation in the diplomatic were but i guess. my sources and from intelligence had been that the french or i mean the third is. the african natio

independence the french still ran it from behind the scenes it was called france africa and the west africans still resent this the problem is that what's happening in mali now is going to spread to unstable where there's no uprising going how central african republic i recall even to nigeria so one has to be very careful here this is a dangerous operation what it's doing it's it's like dropping an explosive in the middle of a fire it's spreading the fire where it rather than putting it out has been for decades as the u.s. was jury from vietnam ending its involvement in a war that cost both sides dealing both financially and physically the price paid it was too high for similar mistakes to be repeated but is also easier in a partner explains washington's foreign policy in recent years is making many doubt if lessons are properly learned sixty one year old ken doll to him is a husband father and retired firefighter four decades ago he was a member of the u.s. navy serving in vietnam every every year we were there every day was like a nine eleven. for those people every day was nine eleven for

the french foreign minister said a west african led force should take over operations in mali asad as possible several african nations have already sent troops with a larger contingent expected to arrive within the next week but your political analyst eric draitser believes any african led coalition well still be controlled by western powers behind the scenes. the united states is looking for any pretext to expand a military presence all throughout africa we know the story of the what could be called the invasion of twenty thirteen where the united states is sending troops into more than thirty five countries all throughout the continent but it's important to remember that the united states has had a presence inside of mali now for over a year well before the french intervention so what france is doing now is merely the surface of this and if we dig a little bit deeper we see that the western imperial powers are responsible very much and an integral part of all of the dynamics in mali but the reality is that handing it over to african troops is handing it over to puppet governments it

in the west african nations future and only four percent or so expect western troops to withdraw amid growing pressure on french president hollande will go online today r.t. dot com and have your say. britain's prime minister cameron has warned the u.k. to prepare for bad news confirming several british citizens have in fact been captured by militants in algeria now the crisis forced david cameron to postpone his long awaited address on britain's status within the e.u. which he was due to deliver this friday details now for you from archie's saraf earth. oh i'm going hostage situation in algeria of course that was the reason for the postponement but of course we've seen some of the extracts coming out of that speech that he was to to give in the netherlands today and certainly there was some strong words in it he said that there was a gap between the e. and the citizens and that if something wasn't done to address these challenges that europe could fail so a very strong message that the prime minister was going to be given this is really considered a very pivotal point in his leadersh

reports french intervention could be aimed at securing vast amounts of natural resources in the west african nation. the french have died headlining today military operation in mali but the discussion is still ongoing as to exactly why the western nation has put boots on african soil again costing money and people's lives. official rhetoric remains in line with the mantra of war on terrorism but some statements suggest another layer of france's defense minister has declared total request of mali is the main goal with the president echoing french troops twenty five hundred so far who remain in the region for as long as necessary they're attempting to militarize huge sections of africa so that they will to monopolize access to the city to the resources this is the there with seeing this effect the complete specifically in relations view of the states i know we're seeing it with problems in other parts of the european union through european union troops actually being used i mean some of the money conflict as well which has been relatively rare in the past gold and especially iranian deposits m

continues as the and the states prepares to send drones or other surveillance aircraft to the west african nation. we'll go to bomb co for the latest. then, to vietnam. >> highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in southeast asia. not isolated incidents, but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. >> as president obama nominates vietnam veterans john kerry and chuck hagel to cabinet posts, we will speak with nick turse, author of an explosive new book, "kill anything that moves: the real american war in vietnam." all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama is preparing to unveil a comprehensive plan to address gun violence that is expected to include legislation tightening background checks on potential gun buyers as well as 19 separate actions obama could take using executive power. at a news conference monday, obama confirmed he would support proposals for new assault weapons ban. he said a task force led by vice presi

in fighting in mali as france continues to launch air strikes against islamist militants in the west african state comes after mali's government troops chased rebels out of the key central town of qana aided by the french military has come on this no talk to the director of the french center for the study erected he says in paris very good evening the first death on the french side since the start of the military intervention in mali was announced today sadly how is the french public how are the french public reacting to the government's military involvement in the west african state how is this news going down you know a whole the whole country support the french president all political parties as well it would be convenient thing that france should fight against terrorism and help them out you've got permission if we even if we have still some hostility to the end of the. maghreb you know it is also a matter of national security because it's much more comfortable for us to fight jags in west africa than in france or in europe when you think it's going to make a difference if you take it on

the capital now france did it for its own interest but it happens to us helping the africans the west african foot soldiers will get into the country now france has about five hundred troops and is using strikes and we should say to you i mean that in light of sort of what happened over the weekend we've heard from the united kingdom came down germany and even the united states they have pledged their support now as our talk about how that support my affecting going forward yes because back in i for one i had wanted it to happen earlier at the un blessing of support in the africans to take hold of the country and bring some order and democracy it took a long time in the security council by finally in december twenty they passed a resolution unanimously twenty eighty five that said they have to make good plans to do intervene now because some people are raising questions as to whether what france has done fits in with the with that result lucian the problem is that it would have taken months to properly train the africans. however that islam is moved very quickly and he goes short of the capit

. >> brown: then, we turn to the west african nation of mali, where french troops have launched air strikes on islamic militants. three jihaddist groups now deemed a clear and present danger to the capital and beyond, a threat to africa and europe. >> woodruff: margaret warner has the story of the suicide of a young internet wizard who was facing federal charges for hacking and distributing online data he thought should be made public. >> brown: ray suarez updates the changes in cuba, where travel restrictions were eased today for citizens hoping to come and go. >> it is still one of the most repressive places in terms of its human rights record but we welcome any liberalization. we hope that will turn out to be one such. >> woodruff: and with rehearsals already under way for next week's inaugural ceremonies, we examine the new rules for raising money for the festivities. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. s

. >> they have taken military action despite the fact that the community of west africa along with the african union has been pushing forward with a broader political plan of their own. you have to recognize that there can be no military solution to this crisis unless we recognize the root causes. making sure the people in the northern part of the country are absorbed and become integrated into the malian democratic crisis. the concern is that the military intervention can breed further discontent and bring more extremists to bear. >> i heard the same arguments from the white house today. there has to be a more holistic approach to mali. there is less of a threat of islamic extremism from mali then perhaps the french are saying. you have 200-300 fighters in the north controlling vast desert areas. we have to understand that mali is the home of historic islamic institutions of learning. timbuktu, and universities, oxford, cambridge, harvard are there in mali. it has a long tradition of extremism and supporting learning advances through religion and through political process these. we have to cr

extremists are already in control of the northern part of the west african nation. france is a former ruler of mali. the eu ministers see the situation as a grave security threat. eu ministers agree to dispatch a group of about 450 military trainers to mali. the block will send an advanced team to allow t trainers to start their effort by mid-february. the training team will set up a base near mali's capital but will not play a combat role. the hostage taking incident by militants indicate that the chaos in mali could destabilize nearby nations and worsen security. the country will speed up dialogue with various political factions to establish a democratic administration. he attended a meeting. he said mali must regain stability and can do so with support from the international community. >>> currency traders work up to something they haven't seen in years. we've been talking about currency a lot. we sure have. the yen has been moving quickly. the yen is still on its weakening track. the dollar traded at the 90 yen level for the first time in two years, seven months

this is in the west african nation of mali.s an international effort now to keep rebels linked to al qaeda out of the capital. france is taking the lead, and french fighter jets and attack helicopters are now being used in air strikes on the rebels. this has been happening for several daze now. the u.n. and west african nations are deciding whether or not to get involved even more. both the u.s. and the uk have promised limited support. i want to bring in vladimir following developments. we've got the french military, you've got 750 of the troops out there. they are on the ground in mali. we know that those troop numbers are going to increase. why is the french, why are they so involved in what is taking place on the ground? >> reporter: well, suzanne, for france, they see this as a threat to the very existence of mali as we knew it before the muslim extremists took it over in march 2012. they see that if there was to be a muslim extremist group taking over a country like mali, establishing an islamic foot hole in west africa t