A very warm welcome youre watching r. T. International with me. First the overnight breaking news from the middle east the United States has assassinated the Top Commander of irans revolutionary guard in a drone strike in iraq the iranian Supreme Leader is now warning of a harsh retaliation against the u. S. Because some some on the revolutionary guards the elite force than was killed in an operation ordered by u. S. President donald trump. Properties at Senior Correspondent mark dancy have joins me in the studio now with more details and more on this really is a Serious Development that many news outlets are covering as their top headline today. Talk us through what happened and how serious this could be for u. S. Raney and relations it hasnt been this serious in a very very long time this is an unprecedented escalation that has put the countrys own the brink of a major war it all happened of course off the consumer the leader. Irans quds force that is a military military regiment that carries out foreign operations he was dubbed the 2nd most powerful man. Iran perhaps potentials successor to the Supreme Leader and this brazen assassination is a brazen attack killing him in the airport in baghdad you know it was it was a message it was a message to the iranians that the United States is prepared to escalate and theyve done it theyve done it in the iranians promise to retaliate the u. S. Act of International Terrorism targeting and assassinating general saloon money the most effective force fighting die of isis alqaeda and hope is extremely dangerous and foolish escalation the u. S. Birth responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism. Who was money he was he was almost a mythic figure in iran the Islamic Revolution he was seen as a mite he was dubbed the mighty the great mighty and he has his assassination is being seen very widely across the middle east as something that nobody expected you have now iran convening a special Security Council you have israel convening this special Security Council everybodys military is now on high alert the United States expecting retaliation in told that iran will retaliate by by the entire hierarchy nevertheless the United States maintains that he was a terrorist that he was the bad guy despite the fact that it was sunni money who organized the 1st line of defense against isis in iraq when the army was in shambles when theres no resistance rises when it seemed like they would take over the entire country it was he who came along he helped form the Popular Mobilization forces the repelled i eventually defeated them with with coalition help. And now were in a situation where the United States says that this not isis this was the ultimate bad guy denies attacks on the United States who was behind the spate of recent attacks that culminated in the death of an American Contractor and the siege of the u. S. Embassy. At the direction of the president the u. S. Military has taken decisive defensive action to protect u. S. Personnel abroad by killing customs so in money this strike was aimed at deterring future iranian attack plans the United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world. It just seems the some people americans arent on board with this decision theyre saying that this escalation was wrong that this puts american lives at threat nevertheless there are news outlets that are just pumping out whatever the state department is saying there are many politicians congratulating trump of what is done and theres you know propaganda flying crosswise sideways front and center. Hey marty thanks for coming in and stay across this story for a stem and im sure there be more developments later in the day for now Senior Correspondent might guess you have. Well joining us now andre will take his a political analyst and journalist dan thanks for joining us on a prior plan now as our correspondent just that this is obviously a new window between the United States and iran so just how serious is this in your opinion. Its very serious i left beirut a few weeks ago and it was already obvious that in the middle east the United States will certainly to go all the way be so the support for d our. Movement in the dark that going to undermine the iranian influence in the middle east is so certain forces in lebanon itself also being supported by the west and now this this is of course the most d serious the most d dangerous. Situation to be so for there are many years now iran doesnt get on doesnt have any easy choices to make if it doesnt retaliate it will lose face it will basically appear as a very weak player in the middle east and basically a counter big challenge was to have its extremist senior d member of assassinated if it doesnt retaliate though d the United States really reserves for that i do basically maybe even a new deal aid to come as we saw in such a situations in the past i think there is a great skill ation of for d. Our organs of will from coming from washington they basically d. Look on stoppable they overthrew the government in bolivia they are supposed to untag rising china and hong kong and everywhere else and now this d d you know iran is a. Very powerful gun. d just a war commander sulaimani was enormously popular figure so this is going to unite the population there are even those who are critical of the government will not support this extra judicially killing and it raises the question of how far is United States rolling to go obviously it doesnt play by the International Groups things that are whatever its going to iran to russia to china. Its going to go punished it has to stop somebody but the hope it is still the most powerful country on earth. Acting absolute impunity this development is of course making headlines around the world this morning and how do you expect the International Community to react to and do the work and see moves that the u. N. Security council. Unfortunately im afraid that the International Community is not yet ready to. Defend the countries that are on the direct attack of the United States yes Security Council may d. Well make some statements of course. Russia china who recently had or friendly maneuver a swift military maneuvers. Would definitely express a concern or called that. The killing. d Security Council and the entire structure of the United Nations is now. d create all such actually it appears that the best imperialism particularly washington simple isnt. Unstoppable so this is the change always is going to change is certain but the fact that this can provoke a very serious military conflict of war between between iran and the United States is im doubtful that the pentagon claims they asked tripe was a defensive action to defend american interests and region why do you think the u. S. Went miss far killing a foreign general in a foreign country. Well look there are also one u. S. Contractor who was killed. Under circumstances that are not certain there are there was a protest in iraq in baghdad against the occupation of the country by the United States in which nobody was killed so the. d attack or all of that nature against or against iranian leader or so on the territory d of iraq is totally disproportionate of the response. There is nothing that justifies. A darkling dont so you want to talk to talk about the defense of or. You know in protection of all d interests of the United States its ridiculous United States is brutalizing the entire middle east for decades earl together if its allies from nato so d there really nothing to defend its. Strictly aggressive. Offensive action and now iran is bowing to bench the assassination what do you expect to happen. Thats what im saying im very concerned about the situation i know it on i know it on young people they are a very proud people and they will definitely not be able to lead d this. Act of will International Terrorists surely go on punished but they know what it will that whatever theyre going to do they will be risking. Almost and in a relation of their own nation because of this so either they do nothing and then the government of iran is going to lose face and they will appear to be a very weak. In you know responding to this kind of horrible attack or retaliate and we know we all know what will what may happen the United States and the west basically reserve the right to do anything they want d to any country in the world and in that count 3 defense itself then its listing basically of being defined as terrorist nation and to undergo absolutely horrific attacks and absolute destruction of the nation as we saw on a day in libya as was so in iraq and in other places and also lets not forget one of the biggest one of the biggest. Or all sort of go deal so feel iran obviously in the i suppose is that a dollar is a muslim socialist country and b. It is standing very closely with many countries that washington was destroyed including venezuela you know lets remember that d iran is Building Social housing could have been a serial it is also becoming close to russia is becoming close to china is basically very comfortable our nation. Will partner. Its all. Political analyst and journalist thank you for joining us on the program and sharing your expertise on this we appreciate it. But with. Several countries have condemned the Turkish Parliament decision to send troops to libya theres deep concern from israel greece and cyprus over a possible escalation of the conflict in the region theyre calling turkeys move reckless turkeys decision to deploy troops in libya presents a dangerous threat to regional stability the repercussions of such reckless move will be dire for the stability and peace of the entire region and a phone call with the turkish leader the us president to raise concerns that foreign interference could further complicate the situation in libya but both agreed to maintain their diplomatic cooperation libya is currently in a dual power regime theres a un backed government of National Accord thats headquartered in the capital tripoli and theres the alternatives socalled eastern cabinet headed by general hurley for half the 3rd region is controlled by local tribes and militias libya has been in a state of war since an uprising in 2011 saw the ousting and killing of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi in recent months the un backed government of National Accord has been losing ground to the rival administration of generally for hafter lead to the Libyan National army general hostiles air force is currently controls most of libyas territory including crucial for oil and Gas Resources the un backed government formally requested military aid from turkey last month. Libyas neighbor also has major reservations the Egyptian Foreign Ministry is calling on the International Community to urgently respond weve been hearing analysis from turkey and beyond on our own course military plan and its possible repercussions. We see a very soft announcement by the arab league we can see that theyre unified only by name were seeing turkey become more and more now the major player in not only libya in the north africa and the east and the middle east turkey showing that its not going to shy away and president add one is willing to use his military muscle to get the results he wants at the diplomatic table as well turkey made a very important chess move. Greeks. Egyptians. Of course are very disappointed by this decision but turkeys strategic move will. Bring some. Advantages strategic advantages for turkey we will see the method the manner of how turkey is dealing with this problem and challenges in the coming days if turkey sent more troops then general have to or will also look at more support from the government hes already there are already backing including and especially egypt the United Arab Emirates they will send their own proxies or troops or more weapons so in that sense the situation could definitely escalate in a military sense. So the calm among the defining impressions 12019. 00 the world was left watching helplessly as not to dawn cathedral burned after the break we revisit the tragedy and assess how long it will take for frogs to recover. Most people think just stand out in this business you need to be the 1st one on top of the story or the person with the loudest voice or the biggest dream in truth to stand to lose business you just need as the right questions and demand the right answers. Question. Seemed wrong why dont we all just dont all. Get to shape out just being educated and in detroit equals betrayal. When so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. Welcome back more now that 29. 00 tains done and dusted its time to take stock of some of the defining the events of the year. And april a blaze tore through not sure dawn cathedral in paris nearly destroying the 850 year old landmark show depends gave reports on just how deeply that was felt in france and how the scars will remain for decades to come. Fronts was shaking to its core in april fully a ravaged the jewel of paris not to dom. Across the world they was show too with blanket coverage over the place and harry in paris thousands came out to the streets Standing Shoulder to shoulder watching this centuries old cathedral. My heart just drop like. Are you kidding me it was completely shocking and i was just constantly away like ok the couple when he would say the tears everything just complete just. Just refreshing closely looking for any sort of update and i thought it was gone i thought there was no way you know they were going to put it out at all with. Everyone at work we just kept refreshing the page and seeing what caused it what had happened we couldnt believe that notre dame was on fire we were at home in seattle and we had literally booked our plane tickets to france the night before and was going to be one of the highlights of course it was it was a little bit of a blow really came in the early hours that it could be saved but it was. That cost was being counted with a price tag potentially reaching billions of euros money polled in from wealthy benefactors and people chipping in what they could but that provoked anger itself many frustrated that the money was so forthcoming for a building when people were struggling to make ends meet the outrage intensified when the authorities were accused of not being completely upfront about lead contamination in the area following the fire some 450 tons of lead in the roof and the steeple melted during the blaze schools were closed for decontamination but many accuse the state of putting the reconstruction of the cathedral ahead of Peoples Health and Environmental Defense association decided to take matters into its own hands it accused the authorities of having lacked in their response and in transparency it is a question of establishing who is responsible for this miscommunication which has left the population uninformed on the dangers to which it is exposed in our opinion peoples lives have been in danger since the night of the disaster because the environmental code requires elected officials to provide precautionary information in real time on public airwaves unfortunately. We never heard this advice and people and journalists stayed around the cathedral on the forecourt and whole families stayed on the ground on the terraces with all the windows open watching this disturbing show without knowing that the plumes hitting them consisted of extremely toxic lead dust and were dangerous to health but officials claimed there was no risk and somewhat angry about the coverage of the contamination at the site saying that all Old Buildings were built using leds and there was too much fear mongering dont. You really have to lie on the ground and leak it if you want to be in fact in this story about lead has been around for a long time and its causing inundation a problem for the not true don destry has isolated knocking down from the tourists travel agents across the world were forbidden in a certain way to come to paris because of the risk of contamination which didnt exist 8 months old and this is what surrounds not a huge perimeter fence safeguarding the sites tourist numbers through here though im more of a trickle than the flood that they used to be and that has hit the businesses around the cathedral hot to at least we have lost tourists we have lost the pilgrims we have problems with the restoration work or not saddam and with the level of security is because the building is still not secure and we suffer from all these how the businesses here have seen their sales figures drop at least by 80 percent during certain periods currently the month of december an average 70 percent trade is hey want to return to the status quo but the work to secure this so i can restore it to its former glory is expected to take years in the meantime some businesses fear that they may end up on the cheap too just like much of not to dome in 2019. Paris. So. Im reminded of our breaking news this hour the United States has assassinated the top command of irans revolutionary guard in a drone strike in iraq because im so in the money lead the elites could see force units conducting and anti terror operations in iraq in syria but washington claims he was planning attacks on u. S. Citizens on interests the iranian Supreme Leader has warned of a hostile retaliate against the u. S. For the killing well update you on developments and reaction in the next planet and in just over half an hour think of. This idea as you point out the anecdotally cheney fired all the cia agents in the field because they were too sympathetic to the locals and he felt that was a liability in the major media spheres of washington d. C. They dont want those reporters those stars to rub elbows in the great unwashed of the flyover states because they may become sympathetic to the working class they may become sympathetic to the to the disenfranchised. So what weve got to do is identify the threats that we have its crazy going from day shouldnt let it be an arms race in this on off and spearing Dramatic Development only really going to exist i dont see how that strategy will be successful very critical time time to sit down and talk. By guess. As its under a tank and being daily. Whats behind his claims on this edition of politic. Welcome to politicking on larry king a thought provoking new documentary no safe spaces claims the 1st amendment is being eroded on American College campuses closing minds and putting free speech at risk Dennis Prager a radio host bestselling author is a key figure in the film he joins us here in los angeles what led. To this this whole document well it shows. The reason its important is safe space is what colleges have created i dont even know if you know this larry because im this i know you and i will see eye to eye because liberals and conservatives both treasure free speech thats one thing we have and one thing that separates us from the world exactly you know and that no no thats exactly why we got the statue of liberty and nobody else did and the bill of rights yes its exactly right so for the 1st time in American History free speech is threatened and its threatened most on the College Campus so the safe space that from which the name coach colleges have made a place they literally have you could see it rooms in buildings called safe spaces so if a conservative comes to speak of college and youre not conservative you can go there they give you hot chocolate they give you play dough you watch movies of frolicking puppies i mean larry. I dont know it will blow your mind many colleges do a tremendous number almost everyone i have been to has a safe space and thats the reason that this is such a well known thing with which is why they gave it the name so of course in the film there are a lot of liberals like van jones and others at c. N. N. And elsewhere and they they make the point over and over this is a bad thing you can you you have to confront ideas you dont agree with a little history when that starts. Thats a good question i cant give you a date i would say in the last 1015 years its pretty its almost sudden because when i was a college i mean there was a liberal bias in the faculty but but everybody could say what they wanted what led to it. Heres my theory and the film is not politicized but but this is my theory. When liberals ran colleges free speech was a great was given the left is not liberal i wish liberty liberal understood this Alan Dershowitz understands this as the right is not conservative well i dont think theres a parallel but we could talk about that. Mainstream conservatives and mainstream liberals agree on free speech the left has never agreed i have to say free speech is not a right wing problem there were there were right wing problems free speech is not one of them but anyway the left does always suppress free speech its just its history and they have taken over the colleges from the liberals and thats thats whats happening but but larry i got to tell you its very scary i mean i mean you know parents call me and they tell me if my kid writes something that their left wing professor doesnt agree with theyre afraid theyll get a bad grade. And this then is left wing professors but if youre a professor. This seems like the opposite of what a professor should be there is a story in this film its a riveting fill i have to say that using clips well you will see a professor the guys a liberal secular liberal even liberal left but not left Bret Weinstein hes a professor of biology Evergreen State CollegeWashington State one day they announced all whites must leave campus for a day i mean the very notion is sick and he said no im not leaving with this this is racism in all my liberal but this is absurd. We have the video in the film its a very riveting story his story