israel should sign the n.p.t. the nonproliferation treaty just as we have i should reveal what it has. called into the role of nations only nations and countries can be members of the n.p.t. so you cannot on the one hand demand that israel should sign the n.p.t. on the other hand deny israel's right to exist and i've said to them that i believe that this is something which is unacceptable a second point has been israel has insisted on its be recognized as a jewish state. and they have said to me look we don't say that france in its title doesn't say the christian state or france or the christian state of britain or the catholic state of germany and so forth and i've said to them that why do you say the islamic republic of iran if you raise the word islamic we will raise the word jewish and they say no that's different why is it different this is the kind of. discussion we have had to put it that way sometimes very very. heated discussion in your opinion would it be good or bad for israel if assad regime force. let

iraq israel and turkey we have very good relations with three of those countries turkey iraq and israel they have very vested interests in a solution that doesn't make that part of the world worse i think primarily what u.s. policy be doing is working with those three countries working on getting them on a common agenda and doing what is best possible for the region and for the people of syria but i think this discussion about a direct military intervention by a coalition of the willing is premature and and again very likely to lead to a really really difficult situation that make things look like somalia and other countries are just bad and i just remind people you know the closest we've had to this is bosnia and if you remember about the one thing about the european intervention in bosnia the europeans went in basically after the killing stopped. i mean after the worst genocide was over after the sides had had split off and after everybody was exhausted then they went in and going in on the front ends a very difficult and very different scenario very interesting james i got to you in

i think that you know folks that advocate for these strikes by israel understand that israel can't take out iran's nuclear capability they can maybe delay it by a year maybe two years but what that is going to create is this long term military confrontation and the u.s. is going to be a part of it. some of the reports are saying the motive behind israel saying that they're only going to give us this small amount of time is that they're worried that president obama is going to try to prevent an attack on iran and why would it be and the u.s. in the u.s. interest to prevent an attack i mean especially when it comes to oil prices. a war with iran would make the last ten years of military adventurism look like a cakewalk in comparison it would drive oil prices up you know who knows one hundred fifty two hundred two hundred fifty dollars a barrel send shock waves through our economy and shock waves through the european economy. and like i said this would be a long term confrontation that we would really have a difficult time digging ourselves out of a lot of people say that you know you you

so publicly that he will support israel in whatever they need. all support is one thing war is quite another and it looks like the doomsday clock is ticking for trouble with iran so who will fire first and what is it mean for the international community. and while republicans fight so when their party's nomination is the u.s. military admitting defeat in afghanistan a new report seems to suggest it will explain. it's wednesday february eighth five pm in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our team. well the race to be the next republican presidential candidate has shaken up this after rick santorum swept all three states in last night's primaries now mitt romney's cozy spot as front runner isn't so certain anymore the route the race or various candidates enjoyed their time in the limelight line the light only to be taken over by a new g.o.p. flavor of the week but one candidates popularity has remained consistent ron paul and there are signs that he is gaining momentum especially after coming in second in minnesota where he beat romn

that stipulates the ownership of israel exclusive ownership of israel. over the entirety of the land of israel which comprises in the in the eyes of palestinians palestine that paradigm is a dead end i think it is immoral morally and practically it's not sustainable and that is the reason why i left government i thought i could not serve that kind of off message thank you moon the united nations chain has caught on is often end of occupation of palestine morning and that is why only the ten other israeli palestinian conflict what is the israeli government is willing to let israel does on the west bank and the gaza strip whatever it likes. and. things are changing fast on the ground in favor of entrenching israeli presence in palestinian areas i don't think really jerusalem pays much attention too much attention to what to the secretary-general of the u.n. is saying who can it's all the lion in the region considering that in the aftermath of the arab spring the middle east has become more radicalized i don't think israel is looking for allies i think isra

positive card in the hands of israel what would be if israel and iran and both had nuclear weapons only for me if i had. i've been asked that question before and i think it's a theoretical question. what you're alluding to is in the end is that has the time come for israel to. change its policy of what we call the opaque. methods of presenting what we have or not and i don't think that this time has arrived for the reason i've given before as the most scientists concerned would you define if coming to a mission as preventing war or weakening iran in the case that does happen i think that. it is the mission of the mossad to do everything in. its capabilities to. make a. threat which has been posed to israel dormant what capabilities does the mossad have when it comes to iran but here again i don't think that it would be useful for me to hold lists of capabilities i think leaves the capabilities which every intelligence organization has i think it's important to say that we have been involved in what we call a clandestine war for quite some time with iran and what's interesting about this

at once do you think your man could attack israel i don't think you could israel attack iran i don't know but common sense. is critically dependent on international legitimacy. respond response of strike on iran would be legitimate. and i think. any course. a preemptive strike on iraq and. thank you very much for joining us here are not seen. since so. from los angeles to chicago to birmingham twenty trauma centers have closed since two thousand severe problem is not enough inpatient beds not enough heard emergency department beds and not enough nurses to man goes there to take care of all the people who are the only real health care system that we have in the city of los angeles is the los angeles fire department in fact when i started my venture is a firefighter i didn't want to be a mass and i started out going to just do fire fighting it's about eighty two percent of what we do the florida problem is medical i've had a rescue couple weeks ago waited for hours for big i've waited sometimes three hours but i was it's a safe francis in lynnwood for four hours and fifty minutes stand

to reach out for israel because our predicament. is the result of a policy pursued by this kind of government in a way that i think is tragically wrong. that we lean to the american congress a single source of strength in our diplomatic fabric and that is. very dangerous what following on so much of playing israel has become increasingly isolated on the international stage what should the country's first steps to bring it out of the isolation in my view this government. very explicitly. made a statement to the fake that. step. intentionally . of the paradigm of land for peace and occupation is the key to. a settlement in the middle east. and into a new paradigm. that stipulates the ownership of israel exclusive ownership. over the entirety of the land of israel which comprises the in the eyes of palestinians palestine paradigm is a dead end i think it is immoral morally and practically it's not sustainable and that is the reason why i left government i thought i could not serve that kind of off message thank you mean the united nati

tensions also mounting between iran and israel, following three bomb attempts in israel, georgia, and here in thailand. israel says it is further proof of israel's terrorist activities. >> iran is the world's greatest exporter of terror. over the past few days, iran's terrorist activities have been revealed for everyone to see. iran is a threat to world stability. >> iran denies any involvement, but three iranians have been arrested in connection with the bomb plot. israel is now trying to increase the global pressure on tehran and has not ruled out the military response. >> as if tensions between iran and the international community were not high enough. >> on wednesday, iran and israel traded accusations over a string of bombings in other countries, possibly aimed, as we heard, at israeli officials. >> israel says tehran is to blame. iran says the israelis are using this as a prelude to a military attack. >> we have this report on how both sides are facing off over the airwaves. >> the phone hardly ever stops ringing at the jerusalem radio studio. the calls come in from all over the

israel. in just a moment it's korean and with the business but for now when winter comes to town moscow can look a fairytale city at a rather chilly one so went to try some winter theme activities just on the outskirts of the russian capital from magical forests and husky dogs to snowplows and tiny villages here's a preview. for . you to join our all the chile from moscow out in about an hour's time here on our t.v. but as i promised now the business with covering. hello and welcome to business here on r t good to have you with us gold is losing value on stronger dollar lifted by fresh worries about the european debt crisis however the sentiment has been generally bullish for the bullion with a price up around ten percent this year i'm joined by rob edwards from mrs capital to give his view on where gold is heading thank you for joining the program there's some confidence returning to the financial markets as we see does this spell trouble for gold as a sort of a safe haven investment. goals

israel. when winter comes to town moscow can look like a fairy tale city albeit a cold one so our moscow team went to try to sell winter themed activities on the outskirts of the russian capital from magical forests and husky dogs to snowplows and tiny villages here's a preview. i want to. join the moscow team in an hour's time here on our team before that we'll have a look at what's happening in the. hello and welcome to business here in r.t. thanks for joining me the european central bank has kept its key interest rates at a record low one percent on thursday that's the rate it charges the banks for borrowing the move could help the eurozone stave off recession and recover from the global financial meltdown e.c.b. has mario draghi expects europe's economy to gradually recover in two thousand and twelve in addition to lower interest rates the european central bank earlier flooded the market with cheap loans this was intended to raise fears of possible government defaults and bank failures de

what if israel attack iran and it happens soon? right now israel is sending signs it's running out of patience. here is what we do know. over the weekend, united states and britain publicly urging israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu not to strike. some officials, though, went further suggesting that israel's military would fail. but an attack on iran would be difficult. to start with, israel would have to strike iran four major nuclear site. one is buried beneath 30 feet of concrete and another is built in the mountain. but that's not all. the fighter jets would have to overcome all obstacles. what are they? major general bob scales joins us. good evening. >> hi, greta. >> greta: before we talk about the obstacles, israel seems to be talking right now so much about possibility of striking iran. the united states wants sanctions. it sounds like there is two sets of intelligence gathering. one is worried we are running out of time and the other has more time before we worry about iran with a nuclear weapon. >> the big difference

is looking for allies i think israel is looking for. partners. of convenience. one is jordan. whose survivability in the way in the form we know it is a house in my kingdom. so we entertain. a lot of common interests egypt is consumed by its own revolution and as long as it doesn't pose a threat to us i think israel is taking a very careful distance and turkey. to cut a straw figure foreign policy towards one of the emerging powers in the middle through new as well as syria goes what is the best outcome for israel. and why does the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu wants everything to change in syria if that would mean also i could mean another islamic state on the border i don't think israel came there. have an impact on the outcome of any regime change that is underway anyway. so to ignore the fact that there is a regime change in the making in syria would be. unacceptable but at the same time we need to be very careful not to expedite it is there any way that it all could support and i would take the military invasion of crim

in israel's hour of dire need, the united states must stand with israel. in a bad case of misplaced priorities, the president thinks that israel building apartment worse than iran getting a nuclear bomb. week ago today the supreme leader of iran said that israel is a cancer that must be cut out. and at the very same time last week, iran launched a new satellite and they threatened any nation that tried to stop iran's nuclear ambitions with ten times the violence in return. they mean business and we need to pay attention. obama's state department now designates jerusalem as an international city and in a bizarre move our state department won't even acknowledge that jerusalem belongs to israel. jerusalem does belong to israel. [ applause ] elected, no one had ever heard of a united states president saying to the world that the united states is not a judeo-christian nation. i'm here to say we are. [ applause ] before president obama was elected, no one had ever heard a united states president say to the world that we are anything other than an exceptional nat

that brings us to israel, where despite this u.s. assessment, there is real fear iran is making so much progress on the nuclear front that the next attack could hit home. nbc's stephanie gosk with us from tel aviv tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. people in this country feel that they have the most to fear from a nuclear attack, especially after repeated threats from iranian leaders. there is a heated debate right now over what to do about it, including whether or not israel should attack iran's nuclear facilities on its own. three separate attacks this week in three separate countries. just a taste of what the world can expect unless iran is stopped. that was the message from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu after iran's nuclear announcement. he called iran the world's greatest exporter of terrorism. israeli officials made it clear they believe tehran orchestrated the attacks against israeli diplomats. the same type of small magnetic bombs used in india and georgia were found in a bangkok apartment re

intelligence agencies agree there is no evidence that iran is building nuclear weapons but israel steps up pressure with continued threats of a military strike. zone tightens its belt greece saved from the brink of collapse at the cost of massive new cuts while students in spain lash out against their own lack of funding. two pm in moscow i met treasurer bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on r t beginning in syria where millions of people across the country are expected to have their say on a new draft constitution the referendum that promises a multi-party system comes amid ongoing violence with most opposition groups valuing to boycott the ballot but as an ocean reports from damascus some hope the vote could bring about the end of the conflict. ballots instead of bullets mess demonstrations and violent protests have been rolling across syria for almost a year. the syrian government is now calling for the people to shape their future together by taken part in a referendum on the country's and you cost to sion fulfill its pledge to reform. a boss who i

has puzzled over israel's intentions so what if israel does decide to try. iran and this is a u.s. official says it's hard to know what's a bluster and what's not with israelis well i think a lot of this is baloney and nonsense the israelis are the recipient the benefactor of three billion dollars a year in u.s. military aid if they do something that's completely contrary to what washington wants they will be on the very short end of the stick the israelis are not dominating and dictating u.s. policy in this geostrategic we are not they are not they have a big influence in washington they have a strong lobby but when it comes to iran or when it comes to iraq the israelis do not tell the united states what to do it's vice versa if israel strikes know if the conflict is presented that way between the islamic republic and israel the people of the middle east will really to the side of iran the assassination of the iranian scientist which rick santorum called half a measure. or john bolton of. the former u.s. ambassador to the united nations the sanctions the tightening of the sanction

and israel from their course. there is really been a kind of a drumbeat over the past month or so not simply on creating a nuclear weapon but the senate now has a bill before it which would urge the obama administration to considered military action against iran if iran created the capacity to build a new. they are a weapon now a lot of countries have the capacity to build a nuclear weapon argentina brazil south africa taiwan japan are a lot of countries that have that capacity and have that and want to move the goal posts a lot closer to military intervention you also have the u.s. election coming up and the republican candidates are saying that the moment ministration is weak on iran that it should take military action against iran that it should draw red lines in the same and there should follow up on them except i think there's a very hawkish kind of view point out there it's unclear exactly what the israelis will do to try and pressure the obama administration or whether they're keeping that alexion in mind.

our military relationship with israel is strong. the relationship between the elected leaders of the country is in shambles. netanyahu is furious what he's heard from the obama administration, separating the united states and israel on this question and increases the likelihood they'll have to do something and do something alone. >> bret: juan, there's been a stream of u.s. officials headed over to israel, one after another, appearing to try to calm the situation and this is ahead of the visit by the israelis to washington. >> netanyahu's coming here and i think that you have an opportunity and i think we should all be grateful for it, direct face-to-face conversations between president obama and prime minister netanyahu. and the reason is simple, i think the united states has been trying to convey to the israelis, that at the moment, they're looking for signs that the iranians are actually engaged in trying to build nuclear weapons, they don't want them to do something on a preemptive basis that would then open the arab world to re

israel the importance of the relationship with israel and why president obama. is a really bad friend to israel and. it was even said by one person sort of a friend to iran in some ways talk a little bit about this new information coming out and how it sort of changes the political chessboard and how it sort of plays into politics in washington as well i'm not sure if the new information changes anything i mean what we're just seeing is a sustained campaign. in which president obama is being attacked as an enemy of israel and deep deep immersion by the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his proxies in this presidential campaign because netanyahu is goal is to overthrow two regimes one in tampa and the other in washington he wants to overthrow barack obama and replace him with someone like mitt romney who surrounded himself with neo conservatives who want to attack iran carry out what israel wants to do would probably can't do so the heat there is a shadow war going on israel is a partisan wedge issue it's being used as a culture war issues like aborti

let me first say that israel has no way of influencing the results of present. events in syria i believe that assad is going to fall and i think that ultimately assad will fall in a way which will cause a lot of bloodshed. and i think that this budget will have enormous effects on the history of syria and maybe of neighboring countries as well hamas is very likely to have a duty to soon how will this play into israeli palestinian reconciliation efforts if at all first of all i'm not sure how most will have a new leader secondly i don't think that marshall has been the most extreme of the leaders of the hamas he's also on record as saying that he's temporarily to accept a palestinian state in temporary borders which is something which moves in its significance to a first step in recognizing the fact that the state of israel is here to stay a fine thank you very much for joining us here on our team thank you. but i think. right for you. to be on you know we thank you so you get to mung. if you want to have sex go and have sex. challenges mad as the e.u. hits twent

israel's leaders are actively drumming up the military rhetoric. iran is the biggest terror exporter in the world the israeli government and its security forces will continue to act forcefully systematically and calmly against international terrorism dating from iran. a potential israeli rocket clash looks more likely than never there is speculation a preemptive strike against iran's nuclear sites could happen as early as spring or summer although that's not causing undue concern in israel i think possibly people you know they make their plans for a vacation you know pass or a vacation summer vacation possibly people are beginning to wonder well is there going to be a war is something going to mess it up or i think they're probably going ahead with it with sort of a thought we're back it would be nice if we could get a flight that we could cancel you know you know it's that sort of thing israel has previous experience when it comes to putting an end to new them bishan swished pose a potential threat in one thousand nine hundred one is just wiped ou

douglas feith david wurmser and they all pushed for this invasion to secure the room for israel and it was based on the couldn't it go to you know and divide and conquer when i would say this is jason jason really well but can you answer my question do you think that now if we look at the the not the libyan president but the iraq president that the united states and its allies in nato may try going it alone having a coalition of the willing and just bypassing the united nations because there won't be a u.n. resolution supporting any kind of intervention. well what i think will happen here peters you're going to have basically joe lieberman who's also part of the pros a lobby a pact american israel public affairs committee and similar and also senator john mccain has been a neo con hawk as well basically a mouthpiece for the neoconservatives i think the next step will be open arming the you know we have we've had arming of the rebels covertly coming in from turkey a former cia field officer and friend of mine philip rowley is written about that i think you're going to basically see a ca

does israel have a point? >> well, i think diplomacy has long passed any possibility of succeeding here. they've been at it for 20 years, they're within a year, i think it could be sooner than that, so it's no wonder that israel is concerned. and i think what you see on the part of the obama administration is three years of trying to be private, so they've gone public. megyn: general dempsey's comments, he spoke to this over the weekend and really was critical of israel's reported plan to come out and strike them, the "wall street journal" said his comments will have the effect of making war more likely, not less likely -- this is the journal owned by the same parent company as fox -- weakness invites war, they said. >> yeah. it says to the iranian leadership that the white house is not prepared to take u.s. military action, and that's a big burden off of iran's consciousness because the u.s. could do this thoroughly, completely and without any doubt of the outcome. for israel to strike puts them at the very l

and you have hamas and islamic jihad in gaza could fire missiles into israel if israel does decide to hit. the problem we are looking at here is israel says at some point iran will reach the point of no return, that could be as soon as 6 months and israel says no matter what it will not allow iran to get the nuclear bomb, leaving open the option for a military strike before reaching that point of no return. experts say somewhere between march and june is when that window is optimal. megyn: leland, thank you. in some respects israel versus iran would be like the battle of david and goliath. though in this case david has some sear fire power -- david has some serious fire power. israel has 176,000 active duty soldiers. when it comes to air sphere yoart, israel has 433 combat aircraft. iran has half that number. on the high says, israel has 5 subject marines, iran is thought to have 23. ambassador john bolton joins us live to explain the likelihood of this happening, an attack on iran's nuclear state and what that would mean for the united states of america. brand-new numbers out on amer

aiming something as israel is just practice for their big target, you. that's my view, and i welcome you. you can contact me at mikehuckabee.com and when you do click on the link on the home page. e-mail me. you can also contact me on facebook or sign up to follow me on twitter. by the way, my new york city times best selling book "a simple government, something congress needs a little more of" it's out in paper book. you can carry it wherever you go now. this week israeli prime minister called iran the most irresponsible force in the world. saying that a nuclear iran should concern the united states and every other country. the prime minister's former chief of staff, natali bennett, joins us from jerusalem. it's great to have you with us today. thanks for joining me. >> thank you. it's nice to be here. >> let's start by talking about the very real threat that is being posed by the iranians. they have made lots of comments. the saber rattling is real. just this weekend we have now learned they are moving ships through the suez canal in direct sort of fla