the iraq warlocks list all these names, one by one. today for the first time, they have been put into the publ record, nearly four years later. the unprecedent level of detail in these laws is important for another reason. it is the main way properly assess what is new in them. it can bring people to mistakenly assume there is nothing new in the logs. in conclusion, we believe that having received these laws, wikileaks was right to publish them in its heavily redacted form. the real story was not about the release itself or the content of the laws themselves. almost every law tells the story, and far too often is a previously unknown story of human suffering and death. it will take many months, even years, to extract every importt facts from these laws. wracked body count was committed to playing its part in this back running work, no matter how long it takes. there can be no closure or moving on from this or any war until every last victim has been properly recnized and the full details of the circumstances of their death acknowledged

here we have a sitting prime minister of iraq like american laundry to me. yes ok i remember that from another program iran robert. but if i go to professor marandi and kerry mark did. did in rann win the election in iraq seven months after the last vote was cast because after all what the americans did in the legal war in iraq and we have to run and we have politicians going to run looking for blessings i mean the americans really must be well i mean the whole region must be just and arjen trying to think about what the americans really want to achieve there because now we have basically a pro reigning regime in iran well i i would disagree somewhat like. him or anybody else go ahead or he can interrupt me if he likes i'll interrupt him too but i think that iranians would think that. it's the new iraqi government that the current iraqi government is right is a good thing for iran in the sense that they do have close relations with a country but at the same time the iranians were very much opposed to the american invasion of the country in the first place an

the united states invaded iraq and we basically ran eye back-- iraq for many years, including many of the years in which these abuses were taking place. we were in charge. secondly, it's quite clear from the documents that numerous cases are found where americans were reporting these abuses. the problem is that people further up the chain of command both the military and civilian individuals didn't do anything to stop it. there is no question that the americans knew what was going on. it's not like this was happening in the dark and we only suspected it and didn't really know about it we knew about it and we didn't do anything to stop it. we effectively turned a blind eye. this was strategically foolish and i think morally bankrupt. >> warner: colonel mansoor. >> well, you could see going back to the strategy when the strategy changed in 2007, and we began the surge strategy with thebb fundamental priority to protect the iraqi people, that all of a sudden the blind eye was not turned to these abuses. general petraeus engaged the iraqi government. and the worst of the sectarian actors

live in iraq and i just finished. seconds please can i just have thirty seconds you know you've been here all the time why are you not saying you know what he cuz you're not there were you asked to leave when we are ready to try again already a child there we don't want everybody really being on this program or you know finish your point i'm robert is your because i please. please finish your point please. ok look if you went outside iran during the elections last year you found many poor people who clearly did support it in a shared whom i do not like personally i think he's a crackpot but i think he probably won the elections but by nothing like the poll figures that we were given by the ministry of islamic guidance quote unquote in iran and that's a fact you know we have to do with the facts on the ground in the middle east not the facts of fantasy whether they be on my dinner jones fantasies or netanyahu founders is only body else ok i finished i can close down if you want anybody else could say what they were alr

iraq war is being called the largest leak of secret military data in history we'll tell you some of the shocking details in the war logs and have a debate over whether these the experts the u.s. military into harms way next we're going to look into the obama administration's proposed sixty billion dollar arms deal with saudi arabia now islamophobia is all the rage in the u.s. these days turning mosques into terror centers and islamic garb into terrorists gear so where is the right wing outraged over this biggest arms sale ever to a muslim country then we're going to be talking about the war but not iraq or afghanistan no this is a currency war and of course into farm experts it is raging in the u.s. and across the world right now as the u.s. tries to fix its economy by adjusting the value of the dollar other countries have used inflation to up their currency but is going to pose a serious problem for the u.s. we're going to speak with r.t. financial correspondent lauren lister and one condom of the youngest and most western detainee takes the deal even guilty to war crimes in exchange f

what the americans did in the legal war in iraq and we have. we have politicians going to run looking for blessings i mean the americans really must be well i mean the whole region must be just and arjen trying to think about what the americans really want to achieve there because now we have basically a pro reigning regime in iran well i i would disagree somewhat like. him or anybody else go ahead well he can interrupt me if he likes i'll interrupt him too but i think that iranians would think that. it's the new iraqi government the current iraqi government is right is a good thing for iran in the sense that they do have close relations with the country but at the same time the iranians were very much opposed to the american invasion of the country in the first place and the iranians believe that invasion and occupation were illegitimate but also it's natural for iran to help want a neighbor which has a good relationship with it but the same is true with afghanistan the government in afghanistan is led by a passion president who is very close

believe in iraq and i just finished. seconds please can i just have thirty seconds you spend your time watching and not saying well you know what he does you're look they were you asked to leave when do we are we ready dr king all reach out there. everybody really being on this program or you know finish your point i'm robert is your because i please. please finish your point please. ok look if you went outside iran during the elections last year your son many poor people who clearly did support. whom i do not like personally i think he's a crackpot but i think he probably won the elections but by nothing like the poll figures that we were given by the ministry of islamic guidance quote unquote in iran and that's a fact you know we have to do with the facts on the ground in the middle east not the facts of fantasy whether they be a dinner jones fantasy is all netanyahu is fantasy is only body else ok i finished i can close down if you want anybody else come on say what they were all right we're going to go to a short bre

we built everything out of plywood in iraq. you could do it very quickly and inexpensively and you could rip it apart and we do it so that your function of your organization was shaped body form and you could change it as often as you needed to. it also has a certain mind-set to it. if you are working on plywood, you remember that you're here for a function and you are not here to enjoy the particular types of furniture that you have. over time, i got a little more is in -- like -- these are pieces of the grade lumber that is shaped very thin and and it is grouped together. when they are alone, you can break them with your hand, but when they are glued together, they have extraordinary strength. if you take ordinary people, and you have leaders as the glue, you have created something much stronger than individuals. i became a great believer. >> let me open this up. we have microphones around. we will go to harold first. >> thank you very much. i read sebastian young book. his extraordinary an inspiring. added to capture the bad

pollution in iraq. excuse me and your people there are no salt on your people that you are supporting you were the ones who were putting down and then tears in your radio sewer like it was no use a poor country is totalitarian you are excuse me that's all right it's only fair to say this all right gentlemen gentlemen let's. examine three robert think that robert i'd like to go to robert now robert if there is i'm going to ask you because in this whole observer ok on to our new troops of ado here between israel and iran i don't think anyone would ever call you let me know robert let's change the subject as we're not going to go anywhere with this issue here ok let's talk about iraq ok we have actually you i've got one thing to say excuse me well professor marandi we have plenty of crackpots in the west for example. and instead of being would be war criminals like perhaps the president of iran we have a real war criminal in the british isles called the former prime minister tony blair we've all got our wa

and in iraq. but some argue it's also waging a lesser known battle with the united states leading financial world war two train foreign rebirthing. especially to make other economies pay tribute to a war being fought not with force but with credit in this war us dollars are the bullets and they are cheap ammunition because the us federal reserve has been printing and pumping billions upon billions of them into the economy federal reserve out of balance sheet of about eight hundred fifty billion dollars and have shot up to two point one trillion dollars more than one point five trillion dollars spent buying bonds and home mortgages from banks in the last two years to try to prop up the u.s. economy this policy called quantitative easing is supposed to stimulate the economy lowering interest rates and enabling banks to lend more but it hasn't exactly helped the average american the united states so it's interest rates very low and tries to open up large routes to one being that american corporations

forces from iraq portend? >> we have to have a long view, think of the region as a whole. >> can the u.s. and its allies prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon? >> their president makes statements which sound as though he is a religious fanatic, and religious fanatics are not deterrable. >> next, on great decisions. >> in a democracy, agreement is not essential, but participation is. join us as we discuss today's most critical global issues. join us as we discuss today's most critical global issues. join us for great decisions. [instrumental music] >> great decisions is produced by the foreign policy association, inspiring americans to learn more about the world. funding for great decisions is provided by the carnegie corporation of new york, the starr foundation, shell international, and the european commission. great decisions is produced in association with the university of delaware. >> and now from our studios, here is ralph begleiter. >> welcome to great decisions, i'm ralph begleiter. joining us t

thanks. >>> richard engel has covered the iraq war from the start. he's here in new york with us tonight. richard, do these reports jibe with what you saw in your years there? >> yes, they do. particularly during the worst years. you read these report, they're snapshots from the battlefield and describe some of the consistent problems that we saw with security contractors, with brutality by the iraqi security forces and american troops in the middle of it. the problem is they don't reflect what we were being told by the military at the time particularly before the surge, the military was saying that the situation on the ground was better than was being reported, that it was reporters who were exaggerating the problem. these documents show that the military knew full well how bad the situation was and was telling itself and reporting it internally that there was a really serious situation in iraq. >> i know you spent the better part of the day going through as many documents as you could. did you get a sense as to how and why they were generated? >> e

iraq. straight of washington for reaction to this leg today artie said. nearly four hundred thousand a secret files now in the public domain and of course that's going to take a long time to digest it all but there has been strong reaction from washington so far already has and take us through it. there has been strong reaction kevin let's talk about two principal parties in this case first of all the state department state department saying what the united nations the united kingdom and nato have already said so far that the disclosures put lives at risk at this point but let's go ahead and go to the defense department u.s. defense department and their reaction their reaction is a lot more stronger they use the words we or wiki leaks is for indeed we deplore we could leak for inducing individuals to break the law and they pour the release of all this information they of course also say that they are afraid that this will put people's lives in jeopardy and they also make a parallel with what happened back in july with the week the leaks of revelations mad

iraq. in other news this day france and britain have erupted in a wave of outrage at reforms carried out in response to the economic downturn mass demonstrations are being called by trade unions in the u.k. which is facing the most severe spending cuts since world war two in france huge nationwide strikes are set to rage on after the summit approved a controversial two year rise in the country's tarmon h r t is covering us out of a reports from paris. as the saying goes two things in life are certain death and taxes some french people however would like to add another certainty to that their belief that they can force their government to reconsider its radical pension changes that's despite the fact the plans to increase their time age from sixty to sixty two have already been approved by the same. one who don't know we're out here showing our dissatisfaction because personally i'm here demonstration shoulder to shoulder with people who are younger than twenty five or twenty six years old b

iraq. >> salih: a democratic iraq. >> stahl: a democratic iraq. >> salih: a dictatorial iraq, i cannot give that... >> stahl: you're gone. >> salih: ... commitment. >> stahl: but staying in iraq doesn't mean there aren't border disputes with the rest of iraq, as if they were a separate country. general odierno flew us over one of the most volatile pieces of unfinished business. this is what they call "the disputed areas." >> odierno: this is what they call "disputed areas." >> stahl: or "the trigger line," they also call it "the trigger line." >> odierno: yeah, well, i call it "disputed areas." >> stahl: the kurds and the central government each claim the disputed area-- this 300- mile-long corridor-- as theirs. tensions got so heated here last year that the kurdish army, the peshmerga, almost went to war with the iraqi army. to calm things down, odierno organized teams of peshmerga, iraqi and u.s. soldiers to man checkpoints together and patrol the region. >> odierno: there's a lot of mistrust, so we're trying to... >> stahl: still? >> odierno: we're trying to build trust between them

iraq is now just -- there are still 50,000 u.s. troops there and something like 100,000 contractors. iraq is now cooling off, at least in the public's imagination, to probably take a look at it. that is not something that is possible with afghanistan. we did a little bit of that with the afghan war released because it was a primary source documentation that other was used -- about patriotism. for iraq, i can see already in the news reported she is much fairer and less defensive portrayal of what happened in iraq that is being revealed by this release. the countries do not stand in isolation. they are both modern, western wars, and the lessons of iraq, which are ongoing -- remember, this material covers significant abuses appearing during the first years of these -- of the obama administration. can be applied to afghanistan and other places. the war itself, in the united states, is becoming more -- the republicans are using the mismanagement of the afghan war against the democrats. we are one week before the congressional elections,

troops as they prepare to invade iraq by the end of the week. more than two hundred news organizations have to notify the pentagon whether they will accept invitations to quote and then had with us troops the pentagon has all but it mid its new attitude towards the press is part of an aggressive strategy to deploy the media as part of a p.r. campaign according to the weekly standard the military wants positive stories about the grit and resolve of its troops. deep in the desert. is already. secure to use chests the difference between independent journalism and embedded journalism is for starters embedded journalism if you're going to do that you have to go sign paperwork essentially says i will follow all orders of my superior officer so even from the very start you allow yourself to be indoctrinated into this unit become one with these people so any idea of objective journalism is would sign your name to to do the program and that's out the window and that my great. great free. market. will be a more of a matter of. how wide or. what they're re

media sanitizes war i mean in the case of iraq. war is hell war is bloody war is ugly and that's what we should have seen twenty four hours a day on television war is not primarily about discrete to victory it's about death and not dealt with by any of the people who are leading us on whether it be mr blair on whose only experience of war of television or whether it be to bush or to trying to serve his country we have lost touch with the essence of war with what it is war is at its core death the celebration of our own military prowess what is that it is necrophilia war is a poison america will seize every opportunity. in pursuit of peace. and the end. of the present regime in iraq. would create such an opportunity. war is about self aggrandizement all these abstract terms like patriotism and glory that. after thirty seconds of combat are rendered hollow and ridiculous we live in a society where the mainstream media are constantly involved in numbing in anaesthetics in preventing us from being in touch with the human realities just

and iraq is still a iraq. the kind of iraq that will develop may have a great deal to do with the role that regional arab states play it or don't play. iraq isn't going away, it is how that iraq develops and what role moderate arab states play in that development will be so crucial. so those are just a few of my thoughts. bottom line, the u.s role has been coming isnd will remain critical in iraq. president obama on the 31st of august spoke of turning the page in iraq. that is fair. our role does need to evolve, but we cannot do as a government or as a people in it united states is a think that in turning the page we are closing the book. because the iraq story is going to go o with us or without us. the quality of that story is going to be a direct function of how active and engaged we are so with that i would be happy to entertain your questions. [applause] >> unfortunately e.u. we have run at a time. [laughter] no questions. >> i love it when a plan comes together. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you. please

but in iraq let's take a listen. some may be forced to comply they may go before courts that will accept the any information as evidence against them that may be sent to the. system that doesn't distinguish between you know who are the real culprits some who are the innocent victims. now marina i don't know if that sounded familiar to you but that seems like he's almost talking a bit about the united states hearing out have we heard anything from from memphian and other rights groups on this. absolutely not lucy we have not heard anything from amnesty international human rights watch and amnesty international particular needs to start focusing on these cases and what is happening within the borders of the united states if they're going to try to to be fair and judicial around the world that's great but you know there's a lot of similar cases to the new work for they're taking place here in the u.s. that have received no attention for amnesty international and the supporters of these defendants have spoke out and said

we want to see a government emerge in iraq that is working on behalf of all people in iraq. we want a government that sunnis can support, shi'a and support, kurds can support, other religious and ethnic minorities can support. we want a government that is working on behalf of everyone and is not being perceived as a government working for one at the disadvantage of another. that is what is going to be vital to the future of iraq. if that government is credible, if the government is doing what it should do to meet the needs of its people, then that is how you change attitudes and that is how you overcome existing tensions which are still a part of iraqi society. so we're focused on forming this government and we think that as this government is formed and as the government performs on behalf of all iraqis, then that is the best way to convince people to move past these tensions and past violence and towards a better future for all of iraqi citizens. >> " one little point on this. what i was referring to is specifically these awakening councils. i am not talking big picture. i

and iraq has very active and smart population. and iraq now has hope. there is democracy in iraq and you saw that we really have a democratic system. this crisis of forming the cabinet has demonstrated that despite foreign intervention, despite people being in government and despite politics from outside nobody could impose a prime minister. so the iraqi people will decide who runs the country. i want to tell you something. a vision for our region, we want to have a concordance between iraq, syria, turkey and iran. we call it the fourth region in islamic history. the fourth region of the world, it was set to be the heart of the world and center of thought and faith. and we want to have this kind of relationship, along the models of the european union and this would be our view. this will moderate any extremist tendencies and it will create understanding instead of conflict among those countries and we hope that, of course, this idea will be looked at with suspicion in the united states at this time, but we hope to persuade the world that this would be g

um, but the need to remain focused on iraq, because iraq will defy a short term solution, and public will, especially as expressed through congress is extremely vital to the success of stabilizing iraq. >> what do you think, ambassador? >> well, to a degree, i think the american public's attention span is pretty short. i think it's already diverted its attention away from iraq anthe only reason it would be drawn back is if the situation deteriorates significantly. if it's relatively quiet, i think the american people will tend to tune out. but the other piece of this puzzle is what do the iraqi people want. and we have a status of forces agreement that has a deadline for the withdrawal of u.s. troops, so that, uh, is going to be probably more important than what americans think. >> you know, that, that leads me to ask this question. can a country that has invaded another be the peace builder in that country? is there some sort of disconnect in that case? now former yugoslavia is a different situation and there are other situations that are quite different, but in iraq, can the peace

iraq r.t. contributor wayne madsen says the wake of leaks revelation show the us knew exactly what was going on in iraq. nothing was done without the approval of of the united states command in iraq so yes i think we're saying the us basically responsible for the same kinds of crimes that we. allowed iraq to execute saddam hussein and other members of his government for doing and i think it calls into question the whole idea of why we invaded iraq in the first place because the original reason was changed to well he was a bloodthirsty dictator from the fact that he had weapons of mass destruction which he did not have so we replace one brutal regime with a u.s. backed brutal regime i think if this was a fair system of international justice we would see indictments of misters bush and cheney and tony blair and some of the u.s. military commanders in iraq. the british and french have tough years ahead and their anger is growing massive protests are on the way in the u.k. against the deepest caugh

tensions high in northern iraq over fears ethnic violence with iraq after u.s. troops leave the kurdish controlled region concerns intensified after the whistle blowing web site wiki leaks released documents highlighting cases of hostility between kurds. seeking to prevent nato from placing major forces close to its border with a proposal that would have limited military presence in its newest member states nato meanwhile is hoping for closer cooperation with moscow particularly on the european missile defense and afghanistan. well next technology update takes a shine to metal and how it's still helping to change our lives enjoy. hello and welcome to technology update this month the show goes middle only without the head banging we're talking about the most elementary of materials that have helped build our civilization and still find innovative new applique.

tensions high in northern iraq over fears of ethnic violence will erupt after u.s. troops leave the kurdish controlled region concerns intensified after the whistle blowing web site wiki leaks released documents highlighting cases of hostility between kurds and arabs. and russia are seeking to prevent nato from placing major forces close to its border with a proposal that would limit the alliances military presence in its newest member states nato meanwhile is hoping for cooperation with moscow particularly on the european missile defense and afghanistan. dr. veteran from behind the scenes of relations is going to be finding out if membership of the european union is actually worth the cost stay with us. thank you very much for talking now first of all tell me how much it costs the u.k. to be a member of the. both a very important question and a very tricky question to ask in the first instance the treasury writes a check to the european union every fortnight to eight hundred million pounds now.

iraq. wars in both iraq and afghanistan have taken a heavy toll on american soldiers and sometimes things meant to ease their life on the hostile soil such as certain prescribed drugs turned out to be more dangerous than fierce battles in just over an hour's time we bring you a report that lifts the veil on the mystery surrounding the death of one u.s. soldier. dear mom i'm sorry that i had to do this i've been in so much pain in the past year that i can't take it anymore the stomach and chest pains have been getting worse and no doctor has been able to help me please know that i'll finally be at peace and with no more pain i wish i could have had a life with elizabeth always pictured her being my wife and mother to my kids i love you all see you all in heaven when your time comes i'm going to meet jesus christ. thousands of u.s. troops in iraq received one of these drugs a drug called lariam and it may have prevented many soldiers from getting sick the question tonight is whether or not so

military estimates more than 100,000 civilians have died in the iraq war. that number comes from the 400,000 secret u.s. military records leaked by wikileaks. in his new memoir, general hugh shelton, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff calls the iraq war unnecessary and that the bush administration went to war based on a series of lies, he says, and that's in quotes. strong words from a man who was once the military's top officer. he was born and raised on a farm in the small town of speed, north carolina. after college as an rotc student henry hugh shelton completed his two-year army commitment. but in 1966 he re-enlisted so he could fight with his men in vietnam. he trained to become a green beret and was part of an elite special forces "a" team moving swiftly up through the ranks he was promoted to general in 1988. he led air assault forces in operation "desert storm," the first gulf war but would become an international figure in 1994 when he was put in charge of restoring democracy to haiti. later president clinton appointed shelton chairm

tell if they have the un has urged an investigation into the alleged torture in iraq in prisons details of which were leaked by the whistle blowing website wiki leaks also among the documents is a report expressing concern that kurdish controlled northern iraq could be plunged into bloodshed when u.s. troops withdraw and us best in may are found and kerik roku many in all kurds living in the relatively stable region fear they will become targets. a dawn raid a race against time to catch militants off guard in the iraqi province of kirkuk we're in the suburb of duck cook and the police have just a few minutes to get into position before sunrise. daybreak's in the raid begins police under the supervision of the u.s. army go door to door searching rooms and checking residents against lists of unknown terrorists the police dominated heavily by kurds have been remarkably successful recently they have cut terror attacks by over fifty percent in the past few months these guys are very good they are very good and they're very good at intelligence and of gathering intelligence and developing int