Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20180105

Issues a warning saying the world is watching. They say hes. A moron in. The tell all book about donald trump insists his work is fact as it hits stores early president says its full of lies. First a phone call now the two sides will meet face to face north korea agrees to hold talks with the south. Im joined again. Top story in sports the United Arab Emirates to clinch the biggest prize in middle east football. So then for us to new york where the United Nations Security Council has held a special session to discuss the recent antigovernment protests in iran that have killed more than twenty people the United States called a meeting accusing tehran of stifling the voices of its people well the u. S. Ambassador to the opportunity to issue a warning to the iranian leadership. Once again the people of iran are rising up they are asking for something that no government can legitimately deny them their human rights and fundamental freedoms they are calling out think of us if the founding principles of this institution mean anything we will not only hear their cry we will finally answering the Iranian Regime is now on notice the world will be watching what you do but as we talk as one of my county joins us from the u. N. In new york and mike tell us more about whats what was said today well we heard there from the u. S. Ambassador making very clear that she is intent on casting the spotlight on what she sees a role as a repressive government within iran attempting to silence the protesters across the country we heard something slightly different from the uns Deputy Political Affairs chief who made very clear that there were incidents of violence that the iranian government had attempted to block Internet Access but at the same time there had been protests both in favor of the government as well as against it also outlining very clearly that at this stage it is the police who are dealing with the protests and not the military we also heard from the french ambassador who use this particular occasion to highlight the importance of the Iran Nuclear Deal the joint comprehensive plan of action this he said was the central tenant in terms of maintaining relations with iran and in terms of governing relations between iran and the rest of the world he also insisted that the protests weve seen recently are a matter for iranians alone. As your president. President it is up to the renia and to the iranians to pursue the path of peaceful dialogue a dialogue based on full respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the rain people. However worrying the events of the last few days in iran may be they do not constitute per se a threat to International Peace and security given the the different views it presents themselves at the u. N. Security council on iran tell us a summary of the mood of the atmosphere in the chamber. Well thats something very interesting that you heard there from the french ambassador saying that this does not represent a threat to International Security basically saying this should not be on the floor of the u. N. Security Council Chamber now the British Ambassador earlier said exactly the opposite he quoted a article within the u. N. Charter charter article thirty four which states very clearly that any event that could lead to some kind of International Threat can be looked at within the Security Council now that particular article we understand has not been used for a very long period of time which makes this particular gathering and some of the members just to be cation for it all the more extraordinary that we are hearing from the u. S. That intent to cast events in iran into the spotlight also from the u. S. Which has been expressed before the real intention to spread the debate away from political protests that have been occurring to iran in the wider region the contention that iran poses a threat to its neighbors and to those further afield that was echoed by the British Ambassador who brought out the issue of irans Ballistic Missiles and of course what he saw as this interference in yemen debate is ongoing Many Disparate views being expressed on this meeting brought together by the United States mike thanks very much indeed mike hanna reporting there from the United Nations the publishers of a new and scathing account of dog troubles first year in Office Release the book early ignoring a legal challenge from the u. S. President to prevent its publication Michael Wolff the author of fire and fury inside the trunk white house says that trump has no credibility the u. S. Leader has branded the book as phony and full of lies and estabrook has the story. Crowd swarmed this washington bookstore at midnight friday snatching up. Copies of fire and fury inside the Trump White House present the crowds are no i cant take your order of the phone politics and prose opened it ten am within thirty minutes eager buyers had nabbed all thirty copies the store had im super excited to read this i went to a couple of different bookstores even midnight last night there was another bookstore selling this they sold out in twenty minutes why are you so interested in this book. Why would i not be interested in this book it is so salacious and to see. Politics die hard and scary to read it at three hundred twenty pages this is a relatively like home but it is filled with explosive material the author Michael Wolff said he spent eighteen months conducting about two hundred interviews with senior white house staff in one passage wolf says former british Prime Minister tony blair offered this nugget of information to the president s son in law jared cushion or there was he suggested the possibility that the british had had the Trump Campaign staff under surveillance blair is denying the claim. Another passage describes a potential change in saudi arabia the president was considering before his trip last spring to the middle east in the days before his departure he was telling people that the saudis were going to finance an entirely new military presence in the kingdom supplanting and even replacing the u. S. Command headquarters in qatar fire and fury wasnt supposed to be released until tuesday but the books publisher move the date up after attorneys for President Trump issued a cease and desist letter threatening legal action in an interview friday morning author Michael Wolff stood by his book and added this observation the one description that that everyone gave everyone has in common they all say he is like a child and what they mean by that is he has it and a need for Immediate Gratification its all about him the white house is labeling fire and fury tabloid trash President Trump wouldnt answer questions about the book friday afternoon but tweeted i never spoke to him for the book full of lies misrepresentations and sources that dont exist still fire and fury is yet another distraction for a white house that is trying to advance among other things a new immigration plan and to spend. Plan to avoid a looming Government Shutdown Diane Estabrook aljazeera Washington Well lets take this on we can speak now to our economy as a political analyst in the all through of the book the civil war which was all about infighting in the Republican Party joins us now live from washington d. C. D. C. And eric full of lies and misrepresentations says the president what do you make of all this yeah i mean actually what were seeing here in washington is actually fire inferi playing out in the streets of washington and inside the white house never has there been a books so highly anticipated so salacious that has everyone talking in fact we havent seen anything like this since perhaps maybe even game change written by halperin and mark. Homan and even that book just didnt have i think the type of mpeg that were saying where you have the white house actually responding and a cease and desist letter from the white house and from this president s own lawyers and so i mean i think what that suggests is that perhaps that not only is there information in the book that the trial that Trump White House doesnt want out there but perhaps theyve struck a nerve that the president is willing to go so far and trying to discredit the author discredit the material in the book and again i think this is a very difficult time for this information and for this book to be coming out particularly when you look at all of the major issues confronting this white house and confronting this congress right ok so which leads us to the question which we seem to have cells many times in the course of the year how damaging is this in fact for the president because his followers will not believe that opponents will and wont that be that only the president sees sales. Well right i mean we have we have we have seen a number of occasions where members of even President Trumps own administration have spoken mockingly or negatively about this president so is there any information in this book that perhaps we havent already seeing come out from numerous of organising. Media outlets that have covered this white house and have spoken off the record to many of the unnamed sources in the white house perhaps not but what we do know were at least from this author and from from the scribe is that heres someone who had unfettered access not only to many members of the senior staff but also to the president himself and so he went behind the veil which even many of the the journalists who are covering the white house on a daily basis simply did not have and what he speaks to is here is that heres an individual who was willing to to use his access but also at the same time blow up that bridge that access to the white house and order to get the story and thats what took place here and i think the president and perhaps many around him who who contributed to this book are now having buyers remorse right because there will be those there are all of those who suggest that wolf is no its a shall we say reliable narrator. That thats right and we do know that hes had a long a long history of very complicated history with Rupert Murdoch who the president we know has also had a complicated relationship with so again youre saying much of the overlap between the author and the subject of the book as well as many other key players who play i think a very central role to the success or even failure of this president all right appreciate that thanks very much indeed speaking to us there from washington d. C. Thanks a lot. The most to come here on the aljazeera news hour including homeless and sick in yemen the u. N. Warns the country faces the worlds worst humanitarian disaster in fifty years. The fight against color in zambia calls pitch in to help the army set up barricades in the capital lusaka. Pay it was tried it for my head it is straight out of jail would be hit with a place in. The United Nations humanitarian chief says that yemen could become the worst humanitarian disaster in fifty years the war is having a devastating impact in yemen with widespread Food Shortages and a major cholera outbreak is fighting continues in many parts of the country stephanie teka has this report. Forced to live out in the open these yemeni families of escape the fighting need to border with saudi arabia now they have to bear the elements on the streets of the data they did a routine now for everyone to see this war has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. I came from we ran for our lives now we sleep on the floor no mattresses or blankets and it is really cold we have no income our children are suffering if any of us fall sick we cannot afford treatment our condition is really terrible needless to say we are living in fear. This war now almost into its third year is all about regional politics and control the consequence of that has created what the u. N. Calls the worlds worst humanitarian crisis the situation in yemen today right now to the population of a country looks like the apocalypse we need to scale up our response the cholera outbreak is probably the worst the world has ever seen with a million suspected cases at the end of twenty seventeen this terrible news demick of diptheria a bacterial disease which should be completely preventable by immunization as already affected it out to five hundred people with dozens and dozens of deaths in the last few weeks that is going to spread like wildfire and aid agencies are not able to access the majority of those in need them xanana we had to skip the war our life has turned upside down we cant afford a decent meal were now begging to eat and feed our children were living in the streets on charity some basic supplies are getting through a blanket to keep warm it is winter now and temperatures drop at night in a fire offers little comfort these people face an uncertain future with no idea when they can go back home what will be left of it once they do stephanie decker. Now that after more than two years of silence north korea and south korea are ready to reopen direct lines of communication choose days face to face talks will focus initially on the north participation in next months Winter Olympics in self efficient cars in seoul so the discussions are expected to move on to what they describe as other areas of common interest for the three has this report. In a few days the truce village of panmunjom on the Demilitarized Zone that separates north and south korea will be a hive of activity representatives from the two countries will hold high level talks here for the first time in more than two years earlier this week north Korean Leader kim jong il dialogue and his address four days later his government agreed to hold talks the announcement came just hours after the u. S. And south korea agreed to postpone and your military drills for the end of february these have long been regarded as provocative by pyongyang. The leaders agreed not to conduct south korea yes joint military drills. And to do their best to use sure the security of the olympics. Next weeks discussions will center on north koreas participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics as well as generally improving into korea relations but officials here in south korea are also hoping the negotiations will eventually lead to north korea returning to international talks on its Nuclear Program even so president cautiously optimistic saying we should refrain from making premature judgement or expectation. The Japanese Defense minister also sounded a lot of caution when. North korea goes through phases of apparent dialogue and provocations but either way north korea is continuing its nuclear and Missile Development we have no intention of weakening our warning and surveillance. It is new years day speech said north korea with its Nuclear Weapons program and even called for the mass production of deployment of Nuclear Warheads and this house. From the conservative perspective in north korea trying to buy time the majority seems to believe the north korea is trying to finalize its Technical Development to to achieve operational i. C. B. M. So you know as us the cia has announced before they are talking about two three month time in terms of finalizing the i. C. B. M. System and it looks like this is a perfect action on their side you know to buy time last year north korea test fired three to continental Ballistic Missiles or i. C. B. M. s including one that its capable of reaching the u. S. Made many hope the upcoming talks rebate the best option for now of deescalate the crisis on the Korean Peninsula largely aljazeera so. What joining us now from denver is the former u. S. Ambassador to south korea christopher hill. Youve your very experienced in negotiation you are the chief negotiator for the United States in discussions with north korea took part in the Six Party Talks you understand the situation very well what do you make of this Current Situation right now with the suggestion that the talks are going to take place again. Well first of all i think the North Koreans are conducting a bit of a piece of offensive with their neighbors in the south i think its important to understand there are two sets of negotiations one is the socalled six Party Process aimed at the Security Issues the other is socalled peninsula talks aimed at trying to reduce tensions on the peninsula and i think its especially important for the South Koreans right now to engage in these talks after all they have the olympics coming up it is been an enormous investment for south korea both in money terms but also and National Prestige so they really want these olympics to go very well and so they see a real opportunity here in the short term whether this can become something for the longer term whether the North Koreans would be prepared to for example return to discussions about denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula i dont really see any signs of it but certainly and in the context where weve had zero good news on any aspect of the hill i was going to jump in there if you would just we will come back to you a little bit later in the program hopefully but we just need to jump in because weve got the back of the United Nations Security Council talking on the Russian Federation is addressing is the chamber right now that weve been seeing once again how the United States is abusing the platform of the Security Council. And why is the United States a permanent member of the Security Council and one of the authors of the much harder because undermining the what they already of the Security Council as the means by which is it responsible for maintaining International Peace and security which i think it is obvious for everyone that the topic chosen today does not fall within the parag it established by the u. N. Charter for this Security Council and the references we hear today tomorrow that gold thirty four of the u. N. Charter as it applies to the situation are completely inappropriate this should be obvious to anyone who will take the time to read article thirty four of the charter once again when you have. We have often drawn attention to the fact that it is unacceptable to use bogus pretext to include in the agenda purely internal Political Affairs issue of why the United States chosen to do this today when the dome domestic situation in iran has. Become normalized and by the way we should thank washington for this because to a large extent its thanks to the dynamic and words of encouragement and messages to the arena people that we witnessed a consolidation of the iranian rainin society. And were united by antiamerican feelings. The feeling is that there is some sort of. Inexplicable allergy to this country a little while to thinking about events in this country and leads to wishful thinking. We obviously regret the loss of lives as a result of demonstrations that werent so peaceful. However let iran deal with its own problems especially since this is precisely what is taking place we are dispersing the energy of the Security Council instead of focusing it on dealing with acute crisis situations in afghanistan syria libya iraq yemen d p r k on the african continent instead of that you are proposing that we interfere in the internal affairs of a state when you had your own we dont want to be involved in destabilizing iran or any other country. Let instead of that lets have a substantive discussion on the issue of the middle east Peace Process including the palestinian question. If we follow your logic then we should have meetings of the Security Council after the events in ferguson in missouri or after the dispersal by force of the occupy wall Street Movement in manhattan or maybe we should propose having a Security Council meeting when a wave of demonstrations occurs in some western country. But mr president of the we shouldnt look far into history to offer many examples of what what short sighted moves. Companied with an interference internal affairs lead to or attempts to to replace undesirable regimes or impose Democracy Research with recipes of democracy unfortunately due to various violations and neglect of the founding principles of the charter such as independence and sovereign equality of states and noninterference in internal if there is a peaceful resolution of disputes because of that this situation in many countries of the middle east that were stable until recently has become her horrible the occupation of iraq under openly false pretexts which is still being heavily felt by the people of this country. The. Manipulation of the mandate of the Security Council that lead to that lead to chaos and destruction in libya the method a method methodological incitement and fanning the flames of internet. Warfare in syria and burning with terrorists with their war in yemen all these open wounds will continue to remind us of the destructiveness of geopolitical engineering and the temps to determine the fates of other states and nations however. People prefer not to mention this not to remember this and when we remind them of this they pretend that doesnt concern them. Sometimes we were asked why we were wary about the concept of prevention of violent extremism while the project the american delegation to what is taking place in iran is an excellent example to illustrate the substance of our concerns the source of the problem is declared to be the suppression of peaceful protests the cruelty and undemocratic nature of the regime and theres a parallel drive to the events in syria in two thousand and eleven there threaten to National Peace and security is this is declared thus the need for an external interference is justified in the affairs of iran you know this is precisely the kind of approach that is involved in the notion that is being promoted by the United States because of the violent extremists and yet it is precisely incitement from outside and calls on socalled changes could lead to radicalization and violence whether its in iran or any other country mr president. The real reason for convening todays meeting is not an attempt to protect human rights or promote the interests of the iranian people but rather as a veiled attempt to use the current moment to. See new to undermine. The. The joint program the joint plan of action joint comprehensive plan of action. Similar segments of the situation were expressed in berlin and in paris just yesterday. We considered unacceptable. Intentionally undermine the support of the International Community for the u. S. G. C p a way which is the main achievement in Nuclear Nonproliferation over the past few years and International Efforts to ensure. International and regional. Security of them got this especially in a condition in a situation where the i. A. E. A. Has continually confirmed the full compliance by iran with its obligations. Instead of that the United States has continued to introduce unilateral restrictions that are in breach of International Law. And we keep wondering do you have any other means with diplomatic means other than sanctions at your disposal of both of you instead of trying to involve the Security Council in the internal affairs and interference in internal affairs of the council when you. Should actually support the useful initiatives in establishing regional dialogue on Security Issues rob. The framework of that dialogue we can find solutions to many issues and concerns russia has put forward an initiative on establishing confidence Building Measures in the Persian Gulf Region but you want to look at. The provision of the resolution five ninety eight from nine hundred eighty seven continues to be an implementor of. This provision in instructs the secretary general to develop in consultation with regional of the parties security and confidence Building Measures. That would be useful to draw to to Pay Attention to the ideas of the secretary general to launch a process of political dialogue to resolve existing differences among Key Countries of the region as well you mr president you told me you would like to believe that would you be the one who wont have meetings such as this one under your presidency or in subsequent president s and that the council will get to will start working on the issues that the un charter has defined for it thank you very much. So that is the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations recently. Talking about the situation in iran and not unexpectedly as expected condemning the need for this discussion in the first place saying the United States is undermining the already of the Security Council with his bogus pretext to the agenda and why are you talking today when the talking to there in the situation has become normalized in iran lets bring in our course one of my kind who joins us from the u. N. In new york has been listening in as i say very much an expected tirade against the u. S. Over. We do indeed yes accusing the u. S. Directly of using the Security Council in a thinly veiled attempt to undermine the joint comprehensive plan of action that Iran Nuclear Deal which the Russian Ambassador. Described as the most important form of nonnuclear proliferation in recent years but he does not stand alone within the council we heard similar sentiments expressed by other members such as equitorial guinea and ethiopia and the ethiopian ambassador made a very salient point saying that by introducing a matter concerning the internal affairs of another country within the Security Council threatens to undermine the unity of the Security Council itself and that weve seen very clearly weve seen russia objecting strongly to the u. S. Action in calling for this meeting weve also seen a traditional u. S. Ally like france insist that this is an internal domestic matter not going to go far as russia in terms of equating it to some form of wider u. S. Action in terms of subverting or taking over the Security Council but the french ambassador to making reference to the joint comprehensive plan of action making very clear that the most important matter was maintaining that particular agreement in terms of governing irans relations with the International Community as a whole remembering of course that the u. S. Has expressed deep opposition to the joint comprehensive plan of action and the trumpet ministration nic or mike thanks very much indeed mike hanna reporting on the special meeting held in the situation in iran at the u. N. Bia has launched a Major Military operation to contain a cholera outbreak that has killed more than fifty people in just over three months the u. N. Has learned to support providing two million vaccines and beds for six hundred people to again be this report. Having said that we are came back to the Security Council we can now hear from the subject of these talks and that is the republic of iran plan of action is an apt use of its power as a permanent member and as. An abuse of the consulate itself it is unfortunate despite resistance on the part some of its member this consul has allowed itself to be abused by the Current Us Administration in holding a meeting on an issue that falls outside the scope of its mandate putting on display the failure of the council to pull feel its real responsibility in maintaining International Peace and security it is a discredited for the Security Council to take up a matter that is of a pure domestic nature why it failing object lead to lift a finger when it comes to genuine issues such as the long lasting occupation of palestine plus time and territory to reach these are to me is that he cheated and this in this criminal bombing of yemen in the past three years which has so far resulted in that of thousands of human lives human beings and has brought hunger disease and destruction on the yemeni people they lived up the least of such failures of the council or all at you to build a theater attributable to the op struction is opposed by do you as the legation and goes on and on the president. This is nothing but another this but at the time by the Us Administration to escape for war as it has lost every shirt of moral political and Legal Authority and credibility in the odds of the whole war following such acts of disruption take in why does Us Administration us flouting International Law and this is spect in the practices of civilized behavior in International Politics this administration is not desperately reaching for every restaurant that keeps it afloat there is a long history of u. S. Bullying at the un but this is preposterous example the purely internal affairs of a nation in this case protests that the iranian government has that has it out most respect for the rights of the protesters and with every attempt to deal with it peacefully despite weiland infiltrators and direct encourage member for in forces including by the president of the United States is not the subject of debate by the wards most important security or than i would be remiss if i didnt mention for those who may not remember also the United States long history of intervention in the internal affairs of iran it continues pattern of disruption in the course of the market is ation process in iran chan be traced back to the coup staged by the us against irans the more critically elected Prime Minister in one nine hundred fifty three whose style acts intensified once iranian rose up through over to their dictator ruler who was unsurprisingly love with the us government. Since then among others the u. S. Has backed attempted military coups and acts of sabotage in iran impose illegal and inhuman unilateral sanction against ordinary iranians unconditionally supported Saddam Hussein in his eight year destructive war against iranians including by providing him with chemical weapons and even directly engage in military confrontation with iran in defense of saddam i should also refer to the two hundred ninety innocent lives lost including sixty six children on board iran eight six five five shut down into law in one nine hundred eighty eight by the us navy in the persian gulf it would be remiss of me not to recall that you as shamelessly dig the corrugated command there who gave the order to fire the suppressive then while President Trump may may be a number of the fact that no protesters the most of it is against his presence while he was in our neighborhood a few months ago you may be on a very that they have no right to protest the fact is that this every democratic country we citizens view from time to time take to streets to protest wanting what our mother and iran is no exception in every country the security forces. The Police National guards or others or prison to ensure that the thirst remain peaceful and you and iran is again no exceptions. Howard while the u. S. Accuses iran of suppressing protests one can only gasp at the hypocrisy when we using images of occupy wall street protesters beaten and the rag by american policeman and to go back in time when National Guardsman fired on cue peaceful the student protesters at Kent State University or to watching film of the protest outside the Democratic National convention in chicago in nineteen sixty eight or more recently we can leave you to the nineteen one thousand to los angeles riots over the brutal beating of a new king by policeman and killings of innocent African American at the hands up Law Enforcement continue unabated as you all know when they call a phony Army National guard servants in front of a division and the First Marine Division were called in to restore order a total of sixty three people were killed during the uprising two thousand three on the eighty three were injured and more than two are calls him arrested i dont recall any member of the un Security Council calling for debate on this issue when the us military was involved in suppressing domestic under us nor was the debate in one thousand nine hundred three when the f. B. I. Raided the bronx they beat a video and it quarter in waco to exhaust after fifty one days standoff chilling eighty three men women and children the vast majority of whom were entirely innocent of any crime it was he who. Of u. S. Ambassador who perhaps was busy with other priorities at the time of the occurrence to read up on these terrorist seeds of justice on american soil before condemning others for four lists but it is not just the u. S. That has. Unviable record in dealing with protesters in two thousand and five in france interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy declared it is zero tolerance policy toward protests emanating from the deprived suburbs of parys parties and other major friend cities if early into the months traitors largely poor immigrants as scum with almost three thousand are is and several theres candace was only quote to reemerge in multiple other forms more recently twenty seventeen when the poll the police rape of young friend citizen of african origin once again triggered protests i do not however recalled the un Security Council being summoned for debate on these that exam bassa began a molly crudely arabian ambassador to United Nations saying that these hold discussions are outside the scope of the un mandate the us is lost he said every shred of all thirty in the world the administration u. S. Administration he said is desperately reaching for every straw to keep it afloat citizens do protest in any country said the Iranian Ambassador from time to time and iran is no exception lets go back to a close one of my career hes been listening in. The u. N. H. Q. In new york like now. Yes indeed we heard from the Iranian Ambassador a long list of events within the United States itself which should to warrant the intervention of the Security Council should the Current Situation be accepted something that he is adamant is an interference in the internal affairs of a member state making very clear too that this isnt restricted to the United States that in countries like france and in britain itself there has been attempts to stifle protest movements which you said you treat Security Council was going to be uniform in its dealings it would also cast a light on as it is doing at this meeting called by the United States he also attacked the United States for what he called bullying the United Nations saying that deep in this is given this record even this is a proposal received sample and mentioned as well what heeling views as the United States the long history of interventions in the internal of iran a continual pattern of disruption as he put it in the course of the democratization process within iran he sees this gathering as yet another example of u. S. Intervention in what he sees as the democratization of iran now hes not alone we heard the same criticism from the Russian Ambassador we heard it from ethiopia from editorial guinea and also from traditional u. S. Allies france which also insisted very strongly that what was happening in iran in terms of popular political protests was something for a rainy ends to deal with an internal domestic matter support for the United States from the United Kingdom quoting an arcade and seldom used part of the u. N. Charter to justify this. Gathering on the matter the u. S. Itself we heard making very clear its intent on as it puts it to protect those rising up. Against the iranian government costing this bottle light under benches in iran but also very clear from previous statements by the Us Ambassador that this part of a fall Wider Campaign against iran focusing as well on its activities within the wider region and what the u. S. Regards as a threat to its neighbors and those further afield make mike thanks very much indeed thats a picture from my kind of reporting there. All right tell you what were going to return to one of our top stories other top stories this hour the expose of book on u. S. President donald trump the author of the book Michael Wolff has spoken out claiming that the u. S. President has no credibility and that his stuff say that he is behaving like a child a fury inside the Trump White House has gone on said early despite the president s attempts to publication well along with the revelations about Donald Trumps style of government there are also passages in the book on the president s Foreign Policy specifically in relation to the gulf and in one part Michael Wolff writes that the president was telling people that the saudis were going to finance an entirely new military presence in the kingdom supplanting and even replacing the u. S. Command headquarters in qatar and another excerpt trump apparently gave a nod to the saudis plan to bully cutter and there was reportedly a plan that trump would tell friends that he and jerod krishna son in law had engineered a saudi coup trump allegedly saying weve put a man on top lets take this on we can speak to him black is a visiting senior fellow at the London School of economics he has a middle east center and hes also hes way with us now so in seems that were getting an inside track on the trump his views and relationship on saudi arabia what do you make of it all well i think that strikes that people have moved to some saudi arabia in particular day they certainly have the ring of truth there Michael Wolff has not written a historical account of the presidency clearly he cant do that the documents and the available but he has clearly talked to a lot of people leaving aside questions about his own credibility and so on and so forth. I think that much of what has been said in the book fits in with things that have previously been heard theres no question for example about the central italy of saudi arabia in trumps view of the middle east theres no question about the saudi iranian rivalry as the central theme of our times in the region trumps own views on iran i find most of what is being exerted from the book already reported from the book to be really consistent with the kind of things weve heard already now does that mean that when trump says we put our man on top it is literally true trump is known for for boasting for saying things that dont stand up to close scrutiny but the fact that he said Something Like that is entirely consistent with things that have happened no one had been summoned now the Saudi Crown Prince that a man who is really out of the headlines was clearly in a position to be pursuing power in saudi arabia before donald trump became president theres no question about that Nothing Happened at the behest of President Donald Trump the conditions were there the motives were there been someone for example visited washington in march last year several months before he was appointed crown prince but that was obviously part of his own strategy for advancing his own you know yeah exactly heres what i want to come to you what is what donald trump what does he gain out of this this beneficial relationship with saudi and and allegedly giving the green light to the bully cutter well either kind of thing again is something that has been. Widely understood before you know its important to remember dont from first visit abroad as president was to saudi arabia that in itself was rather extraordinary thing to do the saudis were absolutely delighted and subsequent events particularly the campaign against qatar had been. Widely interpreted as fitting in with the weight trump so things now it got more complicated than that and this is where we get into trumps very idiosyncratic style of running the white house he didnt appear to know what to remember the u. S. Had extremely important base a military base in the catch or so there was a good deal of confusion then but the claims made by trump and reported by Michael Wolff are really consistent with events that have happened so far and the public spin not the private gossip that is being put on them by trump and his people and given all of that. We talked about this with a previous guest what potential fallout could there be i mean as i made the point before his supporters went believe it and his critics will and then and the presidency on it goes i think you know the largest story of fire and fury by Michael Wolff is about what appears to be a deeply dysfunctional president with questions about his Mental Health personal style vanity and all those things the middle eastern policy issues that have been described. That they they fit with what we already know they fit in with the declared policy of the administration they dont cover up the inconsistency and the problems with it for example one of the things in the book was quite important steve bannon who is an important source is quoted as saying that on his first day in the White House Trump would move the u. S. Embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem but it didnt quite work out like that but sure it did happen with tremendous ructions as weve just seen only a few weeks ago again part of the disruptive effect that trump is having. Breaking with decades of u. S. Policy in the region but trump does boast about these things what Michael Wolff does in this book is to provide more internal evidence albeit of an informal gossipy sort of nature that the picture is a fairly accurate one alright and like a great a get you know point of view in your perspective on this your expertise thanks very much thank you. Details. On. Me or. Business updates to you by. Going places together. Business updates to you by. Going places together. On. Our. Nick thank you very much for him on have clinched the biggest prize in middle east football they beat the United Arab Emirates in the final of the gulf cup it was an evening of heartbreak for the u. A. E. In the weight city their biggest star Omar Abdelrahman missed the penalty that would have handed them the trophy in the ninetieth minute it remained nil nail after regular and injury time meaning it went to a penalty shootout where the same man abdul rahman missed his penalty again a man made no mistake stepping up to clinch their first gulf cup since two thousand and nine and their first child free on the dutchman pim for bake he took charge last year. To have a girl of survivors in one of them i would like to dedicate this victory to the sometimes i would also like to dedicate it to all those who came to watch the final it was a very difficult match i would like to think who ate all their efforts in hosting us i cant wait to return to oman to celebrate their. But some of our moms fans will be feeling sore after their celebrations took an unexpected turn a barrier the stadium collapsed during celebrations and around twenty fans were injured when they fell to the pitch side below now some of them were taken to hospital but their injuries not thought to be serious. Liverpool have booked their place in the fourth round of the english f. A. Cup after beating local rivals everton at Anfield Liverpool went in front when james milner scored from the penalty spot after adam lallana was brought down in the box guilty sigurdsson equalized for their merseyside rivals midway through the second half of van dyke made the perfect debut for his new club scoring the winner as it finished two one. Elsewhere just feeling god and lukaku scored for Manchester United as they beat darby county to plenty of games two on saturday among them English Premier League leaders Manchester City take on Burnley Chelsea arsenal and tottenham are also in action while less to city play thirtieth town the same team from which les to star striker jamie fardy was signed. Serena williams will not defend her title at this years Australian Open the twenty three time grand slam winner says shes simply not ready to compete williams gave birth in september and returned to the court in an exhibition match last week it is the First Time Since two thousand and eleven that she will miss the Australian Open this will come as a blow to the organizers andy murray has also withdrawn while rafael nadal and Novak Djokovic youre currently doubtful for the tournament in melbourne. Simona halep has reached her first final of the season in two thousand and fifteen champion beats her remaining in compassionate arena kamila in the shins in china on friday straight sets victory for her six one six for the school. How it will face the defending champion catarina sydney in the final the czech cad to deal with five time grand slam champion maria sharpe over in fridays semi Share Program only played eight tournament in two thousand and seventeen after returning for a fifteen month suspension for taking a banned substance and she was beaten in three sets. Germany have reached their first hotman cup final in twenty three years theyll face switzerland in the deciding tie of the mixed team event in perth angie kerber won her singles match and teamed up with alexanders vera even the doubles to give germany a two one win over her sauce trail year theyll play Switzerland Roger Federer and belinda bench itching for the trophy on saturday. Now over the brisbane and International Third seed earliness that elaina beat number two seed carolyn aplysia to reach the final and it was a straight sets win for the ukrainian. Italy you know will face one lady who reached a milestone at the event on friday belorussian xandra assassin of it became the first qualifier ever to reach the tournaments final she defeated seventh seeded anastasio in straight sets to advance on the mens side of the draw nick carey else showed impressive determination to come back against alexandra de paulo of to reach the last four in Brisbane Australia and went down six one in the opening set curiosus came back to take the next two six three six four he will face grigor dimitrov. Next. Australias critters will continue to build on their momentum in the final ashes test in sydney when it resumes on saturday day two saw in the restricted to three hundred forty six in their first innings with pat cummins taking four wickets australias batsmen then started swinging as men khwaja will resume at the crease on line one and steve smith remains on beaten on forty four the australians trail by one hundred fifty three runs with eight wickets remaining in their first innings. In cape town south africa are facing india in the traditional new years test at newlands and there were no shortage of wickets on day one south africa were bowled out for two hundred eighty six but then india lost both of their openers late in the day along with captain variac kohli to close on twenty eight for three spanish football giants barcelona have kept to a new year tradition they open their doors to thousands of supporters for fridays Training Session which is usually off limits their Spanish League season will resume after the winter break against live on tape on sunday boss a nine points clear at the top of the standings the clubs fans who couldnt make it to the Training Session werent forgotten with messi and louis suarez visiting a Childrens Hospital in barcelona. Americas best figure skaters are fighting for a place at next months Winter Olympics in chang and while its a sports known for its elegance and grace one competitor is shaking things up. Twenty two year old jamie marr produced a hip hop inspired performance at the National Championships in san Jose California when he was a fun favorite macit in the eleventh place in the mens competition top of the standings that was eighteen year old nathan chen hes the only undefeated male skater in the world this season and will be fine for olympic gold and that is a sport for now but to nick in london joe thank you very much thank you the monster snowstorm gripping eastern parts of the United States has left Emergency Services scrambling thousands of people without power flights have even been canceled and streets are clogged with snow but theyre not the only of things that are being affected in florida it is so cold that it requires have been forty out of trees the lizards struggling to warm up enough to move in the city of lake worth people helping out by moving them from the road so they do not get run over so not lazy it was just cold. But immoral web sites address for which is al jazeera dot com all the news that were covering right there plenty commented analysis to you that is it for this to this news up but ill be back in just a couple minutes with more the days news but from. Aljazeera explores prominent figures of the Twentieth Century and how why the reason influenced the course of history beginning with the giants of the struggle for civil rights the mouth of a violent resistance to the evils over the vailable to oppress people look at me and continue to think that make rules to be defense that what you mean by about x. And Martin Luther king preached to fix at this time on aljazeera. We have a news Gathering Team here that is second to none and theyre all over the world and they do a fantastic job and information is coming in very quickly all at once we want to be able to react to all of the changes and aljazeera we adapt to them. My job is is to break it all down and we held the view on the stand and make sense of it. News has never been more available its a constant barrage of it with every day but the message is simplistic you have been saying good logical rational person crazy monster and misinformation is rife dismissal and does not hold well documented accusations and evidence is part of genocide the listening post provides a critical counterpoint challenging Mainstream Media narratives at this time on aljazeera. The un Security Council the us tells around the world will be watching its response to antigovernment protests. And i recall this is live from london also coming up in the program