Country. Elsewhere angular merkel is due to me Vladimir Putin in moscow later on saturday will be 1900 official visit to russia as german chancellor and this visit comes amid tight into the global times. That youre watching on t. V. International im writers on a lot could thank you for joining us. In the u. S. Secretary of state has defended washingtons decision to assassinate irans top general mike bumppo struggle to explain the alleged threat posed by Major General solomonic during a press conference and explains. Things got quite easy at the press conference where we saw mike pompei o the u. S. Secretary of state speaking alongside steve minutia in the secretary of treasury and this comes just a week after the killing of irans top general qassam solomonic and as the press asked questions got particularly tense mike pompei o seemed a little bit uncomfortable trying to answer the questions of journalists who just dont seem to buy his claim that the killing of solomonic was necessary to protect american lives lets take a listen to some of what went on if you have specific information about the internet and didnt have anything to do with that kind of disease. We had specific given information on an imminent threat and those threats from included attacks on the u. S. Embassies what is your definition of it in that. This was going to be an american lives where this Intelligence Community is not flawless we we get it wrong in this case you know Just Community going to fundamentally right there was an imminent. Wedding is that right now gone with so the money gone threats are never going now it wasnt just the journalists who dont exactly buy pompei as claims but american lawmakers also have their doubts we just saw in the u. S. House of representatives the lower house of the u. S. Legislative branch a resolution was passed attempting to restore it to the activities of the trumpet ministration and trying to prevent them from further escalating tensions with the Islamic Republic of iran however these doubts about whether it was the right thing in order to kill qassam solomonic go well beyond legislators and journalists they actually go to the us public itself we have new poll results that have been conducted and it shows that basically 2 thirds of the u. S. Public believes at this point that the country is less safe because of trumps decision to kill the top iranian general furthermore 69 percent. Then to the u. S. Public believes that iran is more likely to attack the usa as a result of trumps decisions 52 percent describe top killings qassam solomonic as reckless so a pretty solid opposition to trump killing and qassam solomonic among American People themselves i think there is a lot of. American public. Concern about the assassination and the fact that it pulls you showing people think that it made americans less safe and so what was the point and i dont think people are buying troops explanation that he gave that it was because of an imminent attack on the u. S. Embassy while at the press conference mike peo and steve minutia laid out basically what these new sanctions will include the new sanctions are targeting high level officials in iran basically preventing any business transactions with them but when explaining these new sanctions a mike bomb peo used some rather interesting language to lay out what he argued was the ultimate end game of the United States when it comes to iran the president said we dont want war we want iran to behave like a normal nation the reason that secretary treasurer this morning is to continue this campaign our strategic effort to get to run to behave in a way that doesnt continue their 40 year long effort to terrorize the world if you hear those words he refers to saying that he wants iran to be a quote normal country so essentially it seems the United States is asking late in threats and carrying out more sanctions with the goal of forcing the Islamic Republic to conduct itself in a manner that the United States considers to be normal not exactly clear what that means but until that happens there will be further activities and sanctions and threats and what not now many are hoping that the Current Situation is in a state of deescalation but at the same time people worry about what could happen next you know the sanctions still remain iran still has the capabilities we saw the recent strikes that took place so a lot of nervousness in the Global Community at the moment. Well meanwhile iraqs caretaker Prime Minister has demanded the u. S. Make preparations for a troop pullout but answer washington has made it clear thats not going to happen arties merde casti of has more. Of us are familiar with the situation you invite someone over to stay a while say a friend they stay and stay and stay you drop a hint you know its getting late kind of tired but they just dont get it. America is a force for good in the middle east and a delegation sam to iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to be recommit to our Strategic Partnership not to discuss troop withdrawal what complicates things is that your unwelcome guest is heavily armed and has a tendency to how do you put this kill your other guests you call make this up americans kill an arabian general in iraq iran then shoots back a bunch of Ballistic Missiles in revenge out of iraq i mean these poor rocky guys theyve done nothing and everyones bombing them so you can understand if theyre a little sick of it all and point to the door we want to restart the civil war again among the shia we dont want this to happen were not a battlefield between the usa and iran so whoever wants to hit the usa should do that outside of this country. Yet all of these troops must leave because they have turned iraq into a battlefield its astonishing the americans are saying no we dont care that you voted for us to leave we wont and just in case that wasnt enough of a slap in the face actually going to call more of their friends over to iraq nato played and then you have any middle east you know they told me i said what a beautiful name nato personnel in the region to know youre supposed to us to be honest with you because this is an International Problem today and need to delegation is at the state department to discuss increasing netas role in the iraq situation is absurd it makes a joke a mockery of International Law and simple decency and as does anything absurd has the internet buzzing. America is a force for good in the middle it is and will start a civil war to prove you need our protection given military forces the against the wishes of the people who live there its called occupation. One of they said we wanted to bring a democracy in we didnt mean you could use it to make your own decisions iraq asks u. S. Troops to leave the country but president pompei o refuses instead his state Department Issues a statement the 1st sentence reads america is a force for good in the middle east remember if you say i am so cool then youre not cool theres a lesson here i suppose you cant be friends with the superpower theyll call your friend patch on the head but when push comes to shove you are just another poor bombed out nation thats going to do as youre told. Middle east right Abdel Bari Atwan believes there is no justification for the continued us presence in iraq it takes theres you know well i think thats the state authorizes and there are we dont want them to come back but this is completely fabricated excuses to be honest because this is the would it be that. It is it is that action that is they iraqi it is that it really is it is at all if you will simple and this them state is there and very completely no i dont believe there is a chance of this i mean. Unless United States wonders to come back and want to finance them and this is the only the only way for that same state to come back the best interest of the americans to pull out least troops here today Iraqi Parliament is the dilution and alcohol problems. German chancellor Angela Merkel will be arriving in moscow later on saturday for a meeting with Vladimir Putin theyre expected to discuss the iran crisis and also the nordstrom to gas pipeline linking russia to germany peter all of us got more on this visit. Its not a difficult time that angle a merkel arrives in moscow for what will be her 19th official visit to russia as german chancellor certain to be up for discussion between herself and president Vladimir Putin are taking energy out of the Current Situation in the middle east and the standoff between iran and the United States and Getting Energy from russia into germany via the nord stream to gas pipeline chancellor merkel and president putin are in agreement when it comes to a deescalation of tension in the middle east mrs merkel Spokes Person stressing the need for cool heads this week its const its important that all involved parties exercise restraint and turn away from the logic of escalation towards the logic of dialogue both the federal chancellery and the kremlin have their concern at the situation in the region with the government here in berlin sounding less than convinced by the justification given by washington for the assassination of a rainy and Major General because some solemn army. We saw the explanation of the u. S. Because stripe but the information to comprehend the explanation was missing force of the school year but mildred violence must only be the last resort germany and russia were both architects of the rainy a nuclear deal that now looks to be lying in tatters following 1st donald trump pulling the United States out of it unilaterally back in 2018 and just this week the iranian side saying theyre not going to live up to their end of the bargain following the killing of solomonic its. Very concerning that iran is failing to meet is no longer meeting several of its obligations and what it has now announced is that it will no longer meet further obligations this is another wrong step in the wrong direction naturally raises serious questions about the future of this agreement when it comes to north stream 2 a balancing act between washing. And moscow will be required from the chancellor the United States is very keen to sell germany its liquefied natural gas but doesnt want germany to receive gas from russia slapping sanctions on the project and making overt threats towards european businesses and Companies Involved you face a binary choice stop maam and leave the pipeline unfinished or make a foolish attempt to rush to complete the pipeline and risk putting your company out of business forever with the pipeline just a few dozen kilometers from its planned destination the project that was planned to be up and running at the end of last year now has in and visit completion date at the end of this year angle americal knows germany needs that gas at the price russia is willing to sell it them the flag of the other thing is that no 1. 00 wants to be unilaterally dependent on russia but we received russian gas not only the d. D. R. Where i lived but also in west germany during the cold war and they dont see why the times today should be so much 1st that we can no longer see russia remains a partner if not im going to merkel can expect a warm welcome in a wintery moscow helped in part by the fact that both russia and germany find themselves on the same side of the argument in 2 major issues the russian president Vladimir Putin has also called for calm heads in the middle east and the government in moscow calls the sanctions that have been put in place on the north stream project illegal expect both chancellor merkel and president putin to be singing from the same song sheet when it comes to joint statements on these particular issues but theyll also be close attention paid later on saturday to what has to say and how closely she aligns herself with the russian president and thats going to be paid attention to not just here in berlin but also in brussels and in washington peter all over r. T. Belin. U. S. Aviation authority has proposed a 5000000. 00 fine on boeing for allegedly putting defective parts into it 737 max planes internal memos from the company have been released suggesting staff were aware of numerous problems with the aircraft but failed to alert inspectors. I still havent been forgiven by god for the covering up i did last year would you put your family on a mac simulated trained aircraft i wouldnt know this blue news designed by gloams who own certain supervised by monkeys over 100 pages of internal communications were delivered to congressional investigators as part of a probe into how the boeing 737 max jet was certified safe before 2 major recent plane crashes the planes manufacturer released a statement expressing regret over the content of the communications between its employees boeing also gave assurances it had made significant changes to enhance its safety procedures of the aircraft manufacturer had its entire 737 max fleet grounded in march last year after it was involved in 2 deadly plane crashes with Ethiopian Airlines and indonesias lion air 346 people were killed in those tragedies problems with automated Flight Control systems are thought to have contributed to the fatal crashes. Or some of the most suggests that boeing ltd Pilot Training on simulators as a cost cutting measure aviation Safety Advocates gideon u. S. Believes this was a serious mistake. Most flight conversion training happens in simulators even even news for conversion to the top 11 a derivative of a given type so thats not unusual i think one of the problems that bing painted themselves into a corner of the bed with the 737 Months Program was trying to make it cheaper for airlines to to operate in terms of a common. Pool with the earlier models of 737 specifically the astoundingly successful and g. Family of 7 series as people in Flight Safety committee certainly sink the safety is expensive try an accident can i think this is a the ultimate infestation of that particular mantra that the recall asked to blow it. Out of the problems with a 737 max program i dont think anyone people have tried to calculate it but i think i think its beyond calculation to grahams. House for an International NewsPresident Trump has claimed the us is doing a good job in venice where it will bring you details about after this short break. Reality has mandates of its own that go beyond what our wishes and preferences are. And our utopian visions maybe were going to get a new deal but it may not be the Green New Deal that people are expecting will get the Green New Deal that we have we deserve rather think we are going to get a Green New Deal because the green youre dealing compas is things beyond just straight infrastructure healthcares in that new deal there are other elements if you go back 20 started in 2006 that we are going to get and that are popular in this country. Over the past weve heard a lot about escalation deescalation and what is proportionate weve also heard the word this is how the u. S. Ran complex describe what is not talked enough about is the necessity of ending the American Military presence in the middle east these endless wars must be. Welcome back now for more than a month there have been protests against the french governments plans to reform pensions a draft bill of the project has been revealed and will be presented to the council of ministers in 2 weeks but the main bone of contention is an increase in the pension age well that according to the text is not something that would apply until 2022 a shell that youve been ski explains. Will you still need to me will you still feed me when im 64 or so goes the chorus to that song sung by the beatles now back in the 1960 s. When it was recorded average life spans were far shorter than they are today in france it was around 70 years old the idea of being 64 suggested you were probably close to you wrote expiration. In france they consider that the us too healthy at the age of 63 so for us if unacceptable to diet work in bad health of all. It is very possible to work. Tired at that age they can continue working for them as phones enters into a 6 week of strikes over proposed changes to the Pension System the one element thats really seems to be roiling people is the up being over the age that you can retire at with a full pension to yes you guessed it 64. 00 polls show that 2 thirds of respondents find this to be on palatable while some unions of even demanded that all references to retirement at 64. 00 be removed from the law. This new age is unfair because it will be no lies those who started working young economists agree that its unnecessary and people are against it despite the opposition this seems to be a Sticking Point for the government. I think he does know that everywhere in europe in countries like ours across europe people work a little longer because my thanks makes a lot is going go. Well hes right Life Expectancy has increased significantly in the last 50 years in fact in france the median lifespan is now 83 years old meaning the average person were toys at 64 would be dipping into the Pension System to some 19 years and even if the government refuses to budge all not retirement age compared to. Other countries in the e. U. Some might say that the french have it pretty good in countries like sweden denmark portugal germany and many more the age of retirement is already higher than the current age of retirement in france at 62 and it would still be higher than the new threshold at 64 in addition the Life Expectancy in these countries is lower than the fronts meaning that people who work longer to retire on average in those countries and are more likely to access their pension for shorter periods of time so why are the french making such a song and dance about this. Is not about comparing countries its about social regression its about. And we dont know the next. To the office it generally lower the retirement age 60 to 60. 00 or less we should do the opposite and not race to the bottom thats the issue. As a whole only seem to take our own doing we believe that across this current retirement system is economically viable so as long as we support Retirement Funds we do not need to slash workers rights. Problem for us is not the retirement age the main problem is the row our contracts for this this signifies a complete breakdown of the social system can move it seems for the french regardless of what they european neighbors might be doing when they turn 64 they want to already be enjoying their retirement and this is nonnegotiable jollity been ski altie paris. And the whole trump has claimed the us is doing a good job in venice why are you made those remarks or speaking almost a year after the us recognized Opposition Leader why dos the countrys leader or their president maduro is still in power. We have a good strategy but were taking care of people helping people colombias helping a lot of people some of the nations surrounding and helping people but where i think were doing a good they have a system that right now is very broken well see what happens stay tuned. Meanwhile the u. S. Secretary of state has called for a swift negotiated transition to democracy in venezuela my pompei said the government and opposition need to negotiate to form a Transitional Government and hold free and Fair Elections on tuesday one why dont was sworn in by supporters for a new term as the leader of the National Assembly and that was after standoff with soldiers who tried to prevent him from entering the building since the role last year for branding the majority presidency and litigiousness and went on to declare himself interim leader of a swale a little less mature meanwhile has refused to resign. Journalist paul dobson says the u. S. Doesnt seem to have any clear plan to venezuela. It is very difficult to actually understand the u. S. Strategy in venezuela it is very clear that their political strategic goals in the country in 2019 were not achieved they did not achieve regime change they did not achieve our thing where they were from power and the comments coming out of the white house in the last few days seem to suggest that there is some confusion about the current u. S. Strategy on thursday we saw secretary of state michael talking about dialogue transition which is a significant step down in the rhetoric regarding bennetts whaler however only today we saw earlier the abrams the special u. S. Envoy to the north whaler bringing the issue of military intervention back on to the table so these 2 comments taken merely 24 hours apart really show that there is a process a revision of the u. S. Strategy in venezuela going on behind closed doors in washington another are certainly differences of opinion after what the way forward to achieve these strategic objectives which is very much sense that theyre around getting nicholas mother out of power and that is your update for now im resigned to the quick nabih back here with the rest of the team in just over 30 minutes time with more news from around the world will see that. It is physics physics is nothing but the harmony you can create on vibrating strings but its chemistry chemistry is the melody the melodies you can play on strings what is the universe the universe is is a symphony of strings. Time after time called her ration to repeat the same mantra sustainability area of celery transitions to sustainable prize board sustainability stay in her manner the more equitable and sustainable well. They claim their production is completely hamas. Because. Companies want us to feel good about buying their products while the damage is being done far away and this is Something Else this must be going to look. And mean listen we didnt dream and im stunned. Understood superman in. A low and welcome to cross talk for all Things Considered im Peter Lavelle over the past week weve heard a lot about escalation deescalation and what is proportionate weve also heard the word war this is how the us ran complex describe what is not talked enough about is then assess. Attending the American Military presence in the middle east these endless wars must cease. Cross talking the us around conflict im joined by my guest Mohammad Marandi interim hes a professor at the university of toronto in washington we have christopher and i when he is founder of American Veterans policy network and in iraq war veteran and in sydney we cross the alley risk he is a middle east expert as well as contributor with a monitor all right crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate when home and let me go to you 1st here if you were to believe the media things are settling down a little bit after this tumultuous week involving the United States iran and the entire region and were going to talk a lot about iraq here where do things stand right now because if we look at it from tweets and whatnot you know around his decided to stand down how do you feel about that being interim go ahead i think iran feels that trump stood down because when the iranians. Launch the missiles all of them passed through the the air defenses and hit their targets so they were both accurate and the americans were unable to intercept them. So that was a major a success and i think that was a signal to washington that all their military bases and the Persian Gulf Region are vulnerable and it also sends a message to the saudi is them are atis than it battering the ruling family that the americans cannot defend them against iranian missiles and iran has huge numbers of missiles and huge numbers of underground Storage Centers from took from where they will fired them in case of war its so tromp who as talking about bombing cultural sites and 52. 00 target suddenly he he became much more but say peace loving after after that tack so its the iranians feel it so the way around but more importantly i think the iranians believe that the americans have made probably the biggest mistake that theyve may is among the many mistakes that theyve made over the past decade and that is that theyve turned the iraqi people against the United States theyve turn the iranian people against the United States and theyve united iran in iraq in a way which we havent see before you know christly youre interact or veteran i mean the talk about that because thats essentially whats happen and if you look at was coming out of the pentagon and other places of of power in washington d. C. What where does democracy actually stands now in iraq because it was invaded under the auspice these to bring democracy to iraq now they have a parliament in a quorum of the parliament as says thats time to go home but washington says ah on not so fast so what is the value of the democracy that was forced upon the iraqi people in 20030 head chris yeah a peter you know if i could figure all that out id be a genius because it has been on unsolvable sense world war one i think this the all goes back to sykes peacoat treaty it will the war war and the middle east has been a carved up and so many power structures and its never fundamentally then able to come to a resting place where there is been able to be 0 are harmony throughout these governor