Transcripts For ALJAZ Iraq A Deadly Deception 20171228 : vim

That children in conflict zones all around the world are under attack on a shocking scale the report highlights the deaths of children over the past year and afghanistan child suicide bomber saying to boko haram in nigeria and at least five thousand killed or injured in the war in yemen. So hospitals and schools are being deliberately attacked children are being brutalized and it feels like all the rules in war as you say that used to at least protect civilians and children in particular in these terrible wars out of all disappeared and feels like there are no rules to protect the most Vulnerable Children in these conflicts and all repeal is unicef is doing all the warring parties whether their governments or rebel groups is it surely we can all agree that we need to protect the children. Aid workers have started evacuating critically ill patients from eastern guta a rebel held on klav of syrias capital damascus last month the un call for five hundred people in need of Urgent Medical care to be allowed to leave but only twenty nine cases have been given approval and at least eighteen people have died while waiting for the government and pro russia rebels have completed a large scale prisoner swap and war torn east area east of ukraine it took place near the city. Which is mainly controlled by separatists exchange is said to be the biggest since the conflict began in two thousand and fourteen and for a challenge has more from moscow. Well both sides are now confirms that this prisoner swap has concluded with people being handed in both directions across the front lines in Eastern Ukraine the numbers that actually did scruffs the lines a bit different from the earlier advertize figures of three hundred six people going from kiev territory back to the east and seventy four people going from the eastern regions back into kiev territory the reasons why the numbers are different is because some people were transferred earlier and some people on both sides it seems didnt actually get want to go back to where they come from this is and events that has been quite a long time in the making the final impetus though came as a recent meeting in moscow there was attended by the heads of the two separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine by the head of the Russian Orthodox church Patrick Carroll and by representatives from kiev but the the real political will it seems as come from both kiev and also from moscow with Vladimir Putin saying that he was going to use his influence with the with the separatist regions to make it happen its a breakthrough undeniably a step in the right direction and the sides now are talking about keeping this going theyre doing more prisoner swaps but while people are still dying while moscow is still supplying the rebel regions with weapons and hardware etc and while there doesnt seem to be a final drive for peace this is just a step in that direction we havent got to the destination that we want to get to yet which is a final political solution a bomb exploded at a supermarket in the russian city of St Petersburg entering at least ten people the blast was caused by a homemade device packed with shards of metal no one is claiming responsibility for that attack. Plenary results in liberias president ial runoff are expected later on thursday former football star george way a says he is on track to be the successor to outgoing president Ellen Johnson sirleaf but his opponent Vice President joseph book i says its still too close to call culture minister has resigned following the pardoning expresident Alberto Fujimori salvador was a fierce opponent of the decision for him or was sentenced to twenty five years for ordering massacres carried out by military death squads hes currently receiving Cancer Treatment after being granted a president ial pardon on Health Grounds Argentinas Senate has approved a major government Tax Reform Program as well as next years budget plan thats part of president rates are mockeries push to cut costs and bring in investment the indonesian volcano Mount Sinabung has erupted spewing ash more than four kilometers into the air it is one of the countrys one hundred thirty active volcanoes those are the headlines the news continues and obviously are after iraq a deadly deception keep it or. But. The. September eleventh. In the ruins of new york America Votes to defeat terrorism but this promise is quickly betrayed. George bush changes enemies asama bin laden is replaced by Saddam Hussein. See it as this sudden turn to love is the result of an extraordinary deception with devastating consequences for the world. Everything begins less than six hours after the attack at the pentagon which was also strong secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld scans the rubble and he issues his instructions Stephen Campbell and one of his advisors takes notes rumsfelds intentions are unequivocal. The evening of that tragedy president bush addresses america and the world. Today our fellow citizens our way of life are very freedom came under attack. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. We will make no distinction this essentially detail was inspired by a key figure in the pentagon Richard Powell. On the afternoon of nine eleven places a call to the president s speech writer. I was on the telephone with david frum and i said to david. On the afternoon of nine eleven whatever else the president says he should say that we will hold responsible the states that support terrorists safeguard it is a strategic break from the more modest policies of bush is pretty sessoms. I believe it represented a recognition. That we would never succeed against the terrorists if we went after them one at a time and as long as governments were facilitating the Organization Training equipping and financing of terrorist organizations we were never going to get it under control. And Ambitious Program for all out war a goal in line with neoconservative policy and thinking an approach supported by Richard Powell. Dick cheney Donald Rumsfeld Condoleezza Rice Paul Wolfowitz Douglas Feith these are the advisors who have bushs either. Joe wilson a career diplomat witnessed the rice. They came into office with the Republican Party and particular with the staffing done by the Vice President in his office and the secretary of defense in his office. Referred to was neo conservatives they have ties to the world of oil to the Defense Industry they are strong proponents of American Global domination. Saddam hussein softened by years of sanctions is in. On the evening of nine eleven the president saying well maybe you know we will be going after iraq now and somebody said well. That would be a guess since International Law the president responded i dont care it was going to kick some two days after the world trade center. And the pentagon were attacked the president was at camp david with his senior officials and mr wolfowitz was telling the president. The iraq and Saddam Hussein is the real problem. New goals were different change the regime in baghdad to subjugate iraq a simpler objective. And that of destroying the elusive terrorist. September nineteenth those in support of eliminating Saddam Hussein meet at the ministry of defense the pentagon. They all began asking questions about how long can we continue this policy aimed at keeping saddam under control and that inclusion they came to was not much longer the day after the meeting at the pentagon president bush addresses congress. It is a historic moment the nation is united bush names the culprits Osama Bin Laden al qaida the taliban regime in afghanistan our enemies are radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them. No mention about iraq but he warns our war on terror. Begins with al qaeda. But it does not in there. Tony blair the british Prime Minister and guest of honor applause its symbolic of the unwavering alliance between washington and london. The taliban are quickly driven out of kabul and al qaeda is dispersed. Some of bin laden disappears. In washington bush appears eager to move on to another war i stand by those words afghanistan is still just a beginning if anybody harbors or terrorists or terrorists if they fund a terrorist theyre a terrorist if they have terrorists or terrorist i mean i cant make it any more clearly to other nations around the world if they develop weapons of mass destruction. It will be used to terrorize nations it will be held accountable. After this speech secretary of defense rumsfeld meets with general tommy franks at Central Command in tampa florida. Franks controls a massive area from africa to asia and leads the war in afghanistan but rumsfeld has Something Else in mind iraq. He orders general franks to prepare a plan of attack. Since his invasion of kuwait in the gulf war in one nine hundred ninety one large parts of iraq had been under an international no fly zone. Despite iraqs defeat and the terrible sanctions that were decimating his people saddam remained in power. In one thousand nine hundred ninety eight he drove out u. N. Inspectors sent to disarm him saddam was a dangerous man dangerous first to his own citizens and dangerous to the rest of the world. Joe wilson knows iraq well in one thousand nine hundred ninety one in baghdad he was the last american diplomat to meet with Saddam Hussein saddam was hemmed in he was not a threat he had been turned from a major Regional Power into a third rate dictator. Just over one hundred days after the attacks of nine eleven still fighting in afghanistan america looks for another war Richard Powell publishes what is essentially a declaration of war. The same day franks visits bush at his ranch in texas in front of journalists the two men speak of the successes against the taliban in afghanistan where taliban got the country secure the Country Stable we will destroy the the arcade. Terrorist Network Inside afghanistan it will take as long as it takes thank you off. But in private bush confirms to franks the order to attack iraq. This change in priority worries the general who on february nineteenth two thousand and two confides in bob graham florida senator and chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee. After a briefing which was quite upbeat with the progress that was being made of the general asked me to meet privately in his office and the first thing he said was were no longer fighting a war in afghanistan i was stunned by that and i asked him what the mean and he said that some of the important personnel such is special operations units were being moved from afghanistan to get ready for a war in iraq. Bushs decision is fraught with consequences the fight against terrorism is put on the back burner in favor of a conventional war in the middle east not the most predictable region in the world. In early two thousand and two the military machine is set in motion all the trimmings is to convince the public of the need to go to war with a country that seems far removed from the tragedy that struck america. Under base of each former army colonel and professor of military history. Having made that decision to go toward the political necessity was to sell the war to the American People that they had prepared a significant profit and operation to sell the war at a time when the press was very receptive to whatever the administration might be saying in its efforts to defend the United States against yet another attack and weapons of mass destruction seemed to people on the inside to offer the best mechanism to complete this selling job. W m d s weapons of mass destruction Chemical Biological nuclear for months this deadly arsenal will be at the heart of the iraqi deception the stakes are high in a power struggle between the proponents of war and those who oppose it i was listening to briefings detailed top secret briefings from the cia the Defense Intelligence agency and other intelligence organizations and they all believed. Believed very strongly that saddam had multiple programs to develop weapons of mass destruction in reality there is no consensus on the existence of w n ds for years american intelligence has been monitoring iraq and has found nothing we spend billions literally billions of dollars a year with what we Call National technical means which everyone knows are satellites and they not only take images but they have all kinds of other sensor data on that thing ok and guess what. Not one w m ds site was found any rock since one thousand nine hundred ninety one the specialists of alec tronic espionage the n. S. A. The National Security agency cannot find anything. William binney former technical director of the n. S. A. Was among those scrutinizing iraq there was no information collected by n. S. A. That that indicated that he continued his weapons of mass Destruction Program or even that he had weapons of mass destruction. This was no surprise Saddam Husseins awesome had been destroyed after the gulf war. Before nine eleven american senior officials had publicly stated otherwise he is not about any significant capability would respect weapons of mass destruction he is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors were. We are able to arm bomb him yet not one not. One Saddam Husseins fate is decided the official tone changes and washington portrays him as an immediate threat. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world. States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil and bad but no terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people in the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in iraq simply stated. There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. The existence of w m ds will have to be proven to help them the Bush Administration turns to im a child. In one thousand nine hundred ninety two together with other opponents of Saddam Hussein in exile he formed the i n c the Iraqi National congress. All of them had a common interest in being ex exiles in that they wanted to take over the government and understood that the way they were going to do the act was by following a u. S. Army which was dispensing with the current government and with Saddam Hussein. Overlooked by bill clinton be allied himself with the president s political opponents the i. O. C. Managed to develop a clear and significant strategic relations with people in among the neocons and in the Republican Party at large and it with some democrats also to get support for america to do something about saddam. In january two thousand and one approach unity presented itself for the iraqi exiles so when president bush came to power all those people who were advocating supporting us came to power with. After nine eleven the collusion between the iraqi exiles and the Bush Administration becomes cooperation. That american administration. So that specifically asked us to see if we can introduce them to people. Oh can provide information on w l ds. China be complies enthusiastically he introduces the americans to iraqi defectors endless sources of revelations about Saddam Husseins deadly arsenal. The people in child his group wanted to get rid of saddam that so they were looking and searching in trying to come up with things that would help justify to us what our people wanted to hear that is we wanted to hear something would be weapons of mass destruction so we could justify its going to work with them. A shrewd politician and strategist chalo be also introduces his defectors to the press and through their provocative headlines the journalists lend credibility to all the allegations against baghdad opinion in washington is divided and it was clear from the very beginning that major institutions in the United States such as the cia and a large part of the state department what opposed. To this they had no confidence in us they kept that criticizing us they kept calling us exaggerated liars despite everything the pentagon refuses to question the revelations made by the exiles the idea that chalo be had information that he knew to be false and he presented it knowing it to be false is as never been established in any of the inquiries