Conflict, the crisis in syria, and the longterm impact of the 2003 u. S. Invasion. The mistake was to invade iraq third having indicated , and i would be probably very unfair, but i am tempted to was aat every time there choice between something right and something wrong, not very often the right option was taken. We will also speak with a and freedomlomat fighter Lakhdar Brahimi about his own country, algeria, and it struggle for independence from the french, and the classic anticolonial film, battle for algiers. All that and more coming up. Welcome to democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Have seized the Islamic State of iraq and to control, is said 75 of by e. G. Seizing the refinery would be a major coup for isis forces, handing them a rack pot large a source of the mystic fuel. In other violence, at least 18 people were killed and over 50 wounded tuesday in a pair of suicide bombings in baghdad. Speaking earlier today, airing in president Hassan Rouhani said hisa not hesitate comments come as the Obama Administration said it remains iran oncooperation with stopping the ices advance. U. S. And iranian officials briefly discussed a rack this week on the sidelines of Nuclear Talks in vienna. The speaking in washington, expectations were played down. They discussed the need for inclusivity in iraq and the need to refrain from pressing sectarian agenda in terms of where we go from here. We are open to continuing our engagement with the iranians just as we are engaging with other regional players on the sio in iraq. By id it is likely those discussions will happen at lower level and we do not expect further conversations with iran on this issue in vienna. The New York Times reports the Obama Administration is considering an airstrike Campaign Similar to is drone attacks in yemen. Obama has invited congressional leaders for a briefing on a rack. The u. S. Has captured a suspect accused of masterminding the 2012 attack on the compound in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans, including ambassador christopher stevens. President obama hailed talas capture. It is important to send a message that no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and bring them to justice. That is a message i said the day after it happened, and regardless of how long it takes, we will find you. Ahmed abu khattala is the first benghazi suspect to be detained in u. S. Custody. The Obama Administration says he will be tried in federal court and imprisoned in the United States, not in guantanamo bay. The Washington Post learned of delayed location. Hasspected u. S. John strike killed at least five five people in pakistan. If confirmed, it is at least the third attack since the u. S. Resumed the drone more inside pakistan last week after a nearly sixmonth pause. An al jazeera journalist to stage the lengthy Hunger Strike against his imprisonment in egypt has been freed after 10 months behind bars. Was arrestedmy after covering a crackdown on a city and stage by Muslim Brotherhood support. He and 12 others were ordered released on medical grounds. Speaking outside the prison, elshamy said his ordeal has changed him for life. Everybody who is a Freedom Fighter, either a journalist or anyone doing his honesty, this experience has changed my life. I am not the person i have been anymore. I am now stronger than before, more determined to carry on, not because of me, but everyone who is able to do this. Is anys of Hunger Strike experience i will never forget in my life. Everyone who has been through this battle, the battle of Hunger Strike it has never been three other al jazeera journalists peter greste, baher mohamed, and mohammed fahmy, remain behind bars following their arrest in december. Their cases up for judicial review next week. To see our coverage of the arrest of all the journalists as , go to Mohammed Elshamy democracynow. Org. Following thedown kidnapping of three israeli teenagers in the west bank. Israel said it has detained over 65 palestinians overnight including 50 freed in the 2011 prisoner swap deal for captured israeli soldier. The teens were kidnapped last week while hitchhiking from a jewish settlement. No one has claimed responsibility. Vice President Joe Biden was in brazil tuesday months after revelations of nsa spying led brazilian president Dilma Rousseff to cancel a trip to washington. Leaks from Edward Snowden showed the u. S. Spied on her personal communications as well as on brazils staterun oil company, petrobras trade joe biden said he assured Dilma Rousseff the u. S. Is taking a new approach with its foreign spying. We discussed the uris the u. S. Surveillance programs disclose last year. I know the issue matters a lot to people here. Quite frankly, it matters to the people of the United States as well. President rousseff and i had a candid conversation about it, and i told her, which she already knew, that president obama ordered an immediate review after we learned of the disclosures, and based on his instructions, we have made real changes in our process. We are taking a new approach on these issues. Visite president bidens to brazil comes two weeks after snowden announced he has applied for asylum in brazil. His temporary asylum in russia is due to expire in august. Biden also announced the u. S. Will hand over internal documents related to the Brazilian Military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. The United States is banding up a special project to declassify and share with brazils National Truth commission occupants that shed light on brazils documents that shed light on brazils dictatorship, which is obviously a great interest to the president. We turned over an initial batch of those documents today. To the brazilian government. I hope by taking steps to come to grips with the past we can find a way to focus on the future. Promise of the the u. S. Backed the coup that overthrew brazils government in 1964 and provided support to the ensuing military regime. The marissa herself was a political visitor tortured under the regime. Georgia and missouri have carried out the first executions since the botched killing of a death row prisoner in oklahoma two months ago. Marcus wellons, a convicted murderer, was killed tuesday night in georgia by lethal injection. The Supreme Court had turned down a lastminute stay request s, who arguedrney secrecy around the drugs source could lead to undue suffering. Outside the prison, a small group of protesters staged a rally against capital punishment. This is a sad day in georgia. We are maintaining a barbaric practice, and this is not about guilt. We know that mr. Wellons is guilty. This is about the dignity of human life. Missouri executed john winfield, also a convicted murderer. Anfield had initially won stay following allegations state officials threaten the prison staffer who is supportive of granting him clemency but a u. S. Appeals court waived it earlier tuesday. Another execution is planned for today in florida. A trial is underway after years of delays for four like water operatives accused of killing civilians in the 2007 massacre at baghdads nissour square. The suspects are charged for the deaths of 14 of the 17 iraqi civilians who died when their blackwater unit indiscriminately opened fire. The case has liked for years with prosecutors accused of dragging their feet and a lower courts dismissal of the charges in 2009. Congressional democrats have unveiled new legislation that would ban Internet Service providers from charging Media Companies for faster speeds. The measure from senator Patrick Leahy of vermont and Congress Member doris matsui of california would prevent socalled paid prioritization, which ties to internet speeds to extra fees. This would include a recent deal us on netflix pay the cable giant comcast for Faster Service than other content providers. In a statement, Patrick Leahy and doris matsui said the measure would help prevent the creation of a twotiered internet system and ensure consumers can all access content equally. The canadian government has conditionally improved a controversial pipeline that would carry crude oil from operatives tarzans. Corporations Northern Gateway pipeline project would bring Tar Sands Oil to kennedy to canadas west coast. It is seen as the main backup option should president obama reject another tar sands pipeline, the keystone xl. On tuesday the office of canadian Prime MinisterStephen Harper said the pipeline to go ahead if it meets over 200 conditions. But none of harpers conditions include preventing a negative impact on climate change. Opponents say they plan to increase protests against the pipeline and organize a provincial referendum to put the project a popular vote. Those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. I am in the goodman. Sunni militants have seized part of a racks Largest Oil Refinery located in the Northern City of baiji. The militants reportedly now control three quarters of the refinery compex. Shiite families are leaving the city of back who but of baqub just 40 miles from baghdad. Many analysts say the fighting in iraq has become a proxy war between the sunniled saudi arabia and shiiteled a ran. On tuesday irans president Hassan Rouhani vowed on Live Television to protect shiite shrines in iraq. He said many iranians have already signed up to go to iraq to fight. This came as a shiite led cabinet accused saudi arabia of promoting genocide in iraq by backing sunni militants. In washington, president obama is scheduled to meet with the four top congressional leaders. There are conflicting reports of his plan of action. The wall street journal reports obama has decided against immediate airstrikes, but the New York Times reports obama is considering what the targeted,ribed as a highly selective campaign of airstrikes. To discuss the situation in iraq and across the wider region is Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned his post last month as the United NationsArab League Special Envoy for syria. He has been deeply involved in middle eastern diplomacy for decades. He is a former algerian Freedom Fighter who went on to become algerias foreign minister. As a diplomat he has worked on many of the worlds biggest conflicts from afghanistan and iraqi come from haiti to south africa. He is a member of the elders, a group of retired statesmen formed in july 2007 at the initiative of nelson mandela, who was originally each which was originally chaired by Archbishop Desmond tutu and now by kofi annan. Nermeen shaikh and i interviewed him on tuesday. He is in paris, france. I started by asking him to respond to what is happening in iraq right now. Iraq haslamic state of invaded and taken control of the secondlargest city in iraq, which is absolutely extraordinary. That is the city of mosul. I understand they went down also and took apart may be they are still there, in the city of tikrit. The birthplace of Saddam Hussein. And are marching on baghdad have been stopped somewhere. I doubt very much that they will enter baghdad in any significant manner. The fragilityates of the state of iraq that has been created by the americans after they invaded the country in 2003. Extraordinary that the state as important and rich as iraq cannot protect the secondlargest city in the country. Indicates what the secretarygeneral of the United Nations and myself have been saying for months, years even. That is that the situation in syria is like an infected wound. If it is not treated properly, it will spread, and this is what is happening. The secretarygeneral has very syria isned that if not attended to properly, then most if not all of its neighbors are in danger. This is one of the neighbors of syria. Of course, it has its own problems. Is this latest development an addendum, something that has come on top of the problems that are there. , the country was more and more divided along and then lines, corruption was alive. And the government was not culpable, has not been was not capable, has not been capable of reestablishing Services Like water, electricity, and so on. At the level they existed under Saddam Hussein when the country was under extremely severe sanctions. So this is where we are. There is fighting there. There is killing. There is bombardment taking place. And people are there is no Development Taking place, and people are leaving their homes, their villages, their cities and are either remaining inside the country as a displaced people or going to neighboring countries like lebanon, jordan, and turkey, in particular. And quite a few of them have gone to iraq, actually. , youbassador brahimi mentioned the complicity of the United States invasion of 2003 in the present situation in iraq. I want to turn to comments made by former british Prime Minister tony blair over the weekend. He said in fact the 2003 invasion of iraq was not responsible for the violent insurgency engulfing the country. He was speaking on the Bbcs Andrew Marr show. Lets go to a clip. If you left Saddam Hussein in place in 2003, when 2011 happened and you had the arab resolutions on through libya, bahrain, egypt, and syria, you would have still had a major problem in iraq. You can see what happens when you leave a dictator in place, as what happens now. What i prefer a situation where we left Saddam Hussein in place in 2003 . Do i think the region would be safer if we did that . My answer is unhesitatingly no. That was former Prime Minister of Britain Tony Blair speaking over the weekend. Could you respond to the comments he made . The situation in iraq was extremely bad, and definitely it of feared the republic with reason. You cannot justify postfact of an invasion that was absolutely horrible. First of all, it was unjustified. Lie,d, it was based on a the weapons of mass destruction. Just in the imagination of some people who wanted to invade iraq. Justifications were invented after. Democracy, getting rid of a dictator and that very was inictator just as he 2003, a very good friend of the United States and of britain when he was fighting iran in the 1980s. But lets forget about that for the moment. So the invasion was absolutely , and it has lets talk about what is important to talk about now terrorism. There was no terrorism. There were no terrorists in iraq in those days. Was sucked in, brought in as a direct consequence of the invasion, and it flourished first of all in iraq, and then it went to syria, and now it is back in iraq. To say in 2000 thursday to say that 2003 had nothing to do with what is happening now to say that 2003 had nothing to do with what is happening now is i dont know an overstatement, understatement. Not part of reality. The first head of the Coalition Provisional authority in iraq, one of the first thing see did in that role was to sign the Coalition Authority orders one and two, completely dismantling iraqs government and military. During your tenure as uns special envoy to iraq, you referred to bremmer as the dictator of iraq. Writing in the wall street journal over the weekend, he said, it is time for both american Political Parties to cease their ritualistic incantations of no boots on the ground, which is not the same as no combat forces. Of course americans are reluctant to engage in iraq, yet it is president obamas unhappy duty to educate them about the posed. Our interests can you elaborate on your comments about all bremmer being dictator about paul bremmer being dictator in iraq and what that means for iraq . I was repeating something that he said himself. I think he said and he has written, i think, in his memoirs, that nobody in the history of iraq had as much power as he had. Money, that is equivalent to being a dictator. And he was doing everything he wanted. And you had mentioned the dissolution of the army. Every american who knew anything about iraq and there were quite a few, many of them in government former ambassadors, people who know the country and the region they were all unanimous, dont touch the army. Definitely, 10, 15, 100, 1000 officers who have blood on their hands, who are corrupt, who should be taken off the army. But keep the army. This is the backbone of the country, and it is going to cooperate with you. As a matter of fact, a lot of people including in the military were already talking to som