Broadcasting live from our studio. International im. Certainly glad to have you with us right in one of his latest tweets president has commented on the assassination of the iranian general saying that whether he was an imminent threat to america or not. By his administration his fate was predetermined anyway. The Fake News Media and the democrat potence are working hard to determine whether or not the future touched by terrorists and the money was imminent was my team in agreement the owns and to bush is a strong yes but it doesnt really matter because of his horrible possed well the implications of donald trump statement are quite large essentially its being argued that for the United States to kill someone not just someone but a top foreign leader a leader of the foreign country top military leader its not necessary that they actually represent a threat as long as they had a history of bad deeds or a bad past thats essentially what donald trump is saying now folks will recall that its been about 10 days since qassam solomonic was killed by the United States and sense then the United States has been emphasizing that qassam solomonic was bad that he represented an eminent threat to the United States it seems like hes been getting worse and worse every day since his killing lets review some of what has been said so many was flooding. Imminent insidious terror attacks on american diplomats and military personnel we had specific emanation information on an imminent threat and those threats trim included attacks on u. S. Embassies period full stop i can reveal that i believe it would have been for embassies theres no terrorist except Osama Bin Laden who has more american blood on his hands than did customs with the money so why the rising hysteria well ever since the killing many both in the United States and around the world have questioned whether it was the right thing to do many saw it as a hugely unnecessary escalation with the Islamic Republic of iran a completely unjustified killing of a top foreign leader however the trumpet ministration system that qassam solomonic represented a threat to americans american lives were in danger that was absolutely necessary to do it however even trump zone secretary of defense mark esper doesnt exactly buy that well the president didnt say when there was a tangible he didnt cite a specific piece of evidence what he says he probably he believes are you saying that event one i didnt see one with regard to 4 embassies so 10 days later we have trump speaking up on social media and saying that it doesnt really matter whether or not qassam solomonic actually represented a threat to americans because he was a bad fellow who had a bad past this is a pretty pretty dramatic statement from the american leader essentially saying that it doesnt matter if american lives were in the balance it was justified to kill the top general of a foreign country simply based on allegations about his history. Meanwhile Iranian State media reported on monday that tehran has officially designated the pentagon and its subsidiaries as terrorist organizations president Hassan Rouhani signed off on changes to existing legislation which under which u. S. Central command was already blacklisted the amendment had been approved by lawmakers last week now the move comes in response to americas killing of general sell the money which infuriated the Islamic Republic. And for more on this were now joined live by ken stone from the Hamilton Coalition to stop of the war can i as always its a pleasure to have you with us so this new statement by trump is confounding in many levels the that so let me have it coming so to speak what does it say about the Decision Making in the administration at this point time i mean weve heard almost every variation at this point. Like all the administrations preceeding his im talking about Obama Bush Clinton going back to reagan. U. S. Administrations policies is not based on fact its based on lies and misstatements and its not based on the International Rule of law its based on 2 other things one is the view that the us is an exceptional country that it is it does not have it is above International Law doesnt have to Pay Attention to the rules of International DiplomacyInternational Justice that cetera et cetera and its also based on the false notion that the us is the only superpower and a uni polar world and of course the us was the only superpower in a uni polar world when the with the demise of the soviet union but in the last few years other countries have been rising such as russia and china and iran and in mint in that relation to those countries the us empire has been declining not in the last the Us Administration still act as if they are the cops of the world they are the bullies on the block and they can take whatever actions that they feel are appropriate for them irrespective of International Law and thats why at a time like this its important for people your viewers in the in the west to mark down january 25th on their calendars which is the internet the global day of protest against for no war in iran and to take to the streets to make sure that that the u. S. And its allies in the west realize that there is no there is no bases no support for another middle eastern war ken what does trumps statement mean about the perception of American Foreign policy in other countries. Well there should be a wake up call for other countries they should be standing together and trying to restrain this beast of the us empire from plunging the world into a 3rd world war which they almost did a few days ago when they. Conducted this fall of sas a nation of general soleimani who is generally regarded as the architect for the defeat of isis in syria and iraq hes a hero in the middle east but nonetheless the u. S. Engages in an act of war while this man was on a Diplomatic Mission at the invitation of the iraqi Prime Minister to respond to an offer by saudi arabia to iran to deescalate the tensions in the middle east the man was assassinated by the u. S. In complete flagrant violation of International Law so other countries need to get together to make sure that the us cant do this again because they could drag us all into war i note that a couple of weeks ago iran russia and china held joint military the naval exercises in the gulf of the man in the arabian sea and this was a positive development in my in my perspective because it represents a counter military alliance to the us which might restrain the us somewhat but there are other out the u. S. Allies of the u. S. And nato and canada for example hed need to regard this as a wake up call because they all could be dragged into a war. Or without any preparation without any advance notice and which could be disastrous for the entire planet so rights experts have said america strike against a custom cell money was almost certainly illegal the Top Administration has tried to a justified by saying that there was an imminent terrorist attack in the process in progress will we see the trumpet ministration face any legal challenges over this decision. I hope so but i hope that someone goes to the Un Security Council and demands collective action against the us or at least censure of the us i hope that somebody goes to the International Court of justice and demands demands that a joke court of justice to find that the us was guilty of a gross violation of International Law and is forced to pay some kind of consequence or compensation to iran. Im fortunately. The u. S. Has a veto at the United Nations and even when the u. S. Is found guilty at the International Court of justice as it was found when it mind the harbors of nicaragua some 30 years ago its totally disregarded that verdict so we are in a somewhat lawless state and thats a dangerous situation and i think that the most of the countries of the world realize that and i see that even when right now to settle wars it used to be that people would go to washington to settle them but i see now that the factions in libya are going to moscow because the russian government seems to be the adult in the room the same party in the in the picture here all right ken stone always a pleasure to hear your thoughts and help us reprimands around this from the Hamilton Coalition to stop the war thanks for being with us here on our international thank you. All right in response to the killing of its a top general iran conducted multiple strikes on u. S. Military bases in iraq last week in the chaos a passenger plane was accidently shot down by tehran on january 8th all 176 people on board perished alongside iran canada is also reeling from the shocking tragedy. Crissy 7 canadians were among the victims of the plane crash massive vigils have been held across the country with Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau attending a Memorial Service in edmonton where there is a large iranian community. And while tehran had as acknowledged its for you responsible for the deadly event the c. E. O. Of a Canadian Food Company who says one of his colleagues lost his wife and 11 year old son of the tragedy has lashed out at the United States a narcissist in washington tears would accomplish once apart destabilizes the region us now and welcome everywhere in the area including iraq tensions escalated to feverish pitch the Collateral Damage of this irresponsible dangerous ill conceived behavior canadians needlessly lost their lives in the crossfire including the family of one of my emma left colleagues his wife an 11 year old son we are mourning and im live with human rights lawyer dan leaves washington it turning up the temperature in the region was a major contributing factor to the disaster. It is very clear that the plane was found during a time when iran was on high alert because the us just killed their highest ranking military official general solomonic this was a case where the commanding control. In iran was not working properly and again most likely it wasnt working properly because people were under panic from what happened in iraq with the killing of solomonic with then found out later course this week that the us tried to kill another general. In yemen. You know so again this was a terrible accident a terrible tragedy. In clearly it happened because of the war tensions created by trauma because the u. S. Has decided. A 1st quite some time that International Law applies to every country in the world but the United States. Switching gears now the leaders of libyas warring factions have come to moscow for talks in the hopes of hammering out a cease fire deal in a goshi asians are being brokered by russia and turkey their Foreign Ministers say they expect an agreement to be signed on tuesday the meetings come after a concerted push by moscow and on crowd to deescalate hostilities in libya the war ravaged country is divided between an internationally recognized government in the capital tripoli and a rival administration in the east which is allied to the rebel general after a draft deal circulated earlier calls on all sides to ensure the sustainability of any cease fire combat terrorism and Human Trafficking and work to improve the humanitarian situation in the nation. The turkey and russia produced a draft document that was reviewed in detail today we took into account the proposal for a compromise between the parties suggested by general have and other parties the agreement stipulates concrete details of the cease fire reached on thats wealth of january the draft document suggests that all parties will stop all military actions and observe the cease fire conditions meanwhile a commission is to be established all that is determined that contact line between the warring sides russia and turkey a promise to support all sides in the call today to help them implement the agreements now that solves began early on monday and lasted for more than 6 hours however it wasnt the perfect ending to the day. But it was the student the president of the government of national. And his counterpart just signed the document general have requested more time to choose their morning to work out the details before signing we hope very much they would do the representatives of russia and turkey will be supporting the process ceasefire became possible thanks to suggestions by a russian president Vladimir Putin and his his counterpart. Their dog on both leaders showed a united front on the issue following talks and in the last week should the document be signed this years date will be a major milestone for libya a country thats been torn by military conflicts since the u. S. Led nato invasion in 2 points 11 that the governments awful Moammar Gadhafi at the moment there are 2 governments in libya one that controls a larger part of the country the Libyan National army led by general leave the hospital are however an internationally recognized government of National Accord with headquarters in tripoli that by raj controls a smaller portion now once the talks in moscow are concluded a big conference on the issue is expected in berlin and as we hear at the moment all the leaders all 3 Major Players in this issue are expected there as well mark almond from the u. K. The Crisis Research institute believes russia and turkey have a crucial role to play in bringing a degree of stability to. If its possible to freeze the current fighting lines that at least gives time in the possibility of further discussions theres always the risk in a situation we have so many different militias taking part that some subgroup may decide to engage in fighting that then begins to unravel it but there is i think hope that we have influential external actors on both sides acting together and that offers the prospect that the voice of reason can be heard both in tripoli and also in general have told hazelton turkey and russia as in syria have. Different sides in the conflict but they are willing to cooperate together that has helped to calm the conflict in syria as weve seen all the related it and i think that kind of model. You have people who can say well this brought this together because each of us is aware of the interests of people on the ground that is a potentially positive step and well see obviously at the weekend whether we have a full peace conference in berlin. 21 Saudi Service men are being trained in the United States are to be expelled from the country this follows a shooting at a Naval Air Base in florida in december which claimed the lives of 3 american sailors attorney general william barr has announced that the Pensacola Base shooting was an act of terrorism. This was an act of terrorism the evidence shows that the shooter was motivated by ideology the kingdom of saudi arabia determined to disk material demonstrated conduct unbecoming an officer in the Royal Saudi Air force and in the royal navy and the 21 cadets have been disenrolled from their training curriculum in the us military and will be returned returning to saudi arabia the United States they are sending back those nearly 2 dozen saudi military students from a Training Program and sending them back again home to saudi arabia and about a dozen saudi trainees at the Pensacola Base they have been confined to their quarters as the f. B. I. Was investigating the shooting as a potential terror attack and the pentagon initiated that review of all saudi military trainees in the country numbering around get this 850. 00 students now those 2 dozen servicemen they are not accused of aiding the 21 year old Saudi Air Force lieutenant in last months shooting that killed 3 and injured 8 but secretary of state william barr is calling the shooting at the Naval Air Station in pensacola as an act of terrorism a bar says on september 11th the 21 year old gunman Mohammad Saeed ronnie who was an aviation student at the Naval Air Station and member of the Saudi Air Force he said he posted a message on social media stating quote the countdown has begun now bar added that ronnie also visited the 911. 00 memorial in new york city in november and posted antiamerican anti israeli messages on social media now one of those messages even being posted just 2 hours before the shooting on december 6th the Justice Department learned during their investigation that 21 members of the saudi military who were training here in the u. S. Possessed a derogatory material and of those 2117 had social media profiles containing jihadi or antiamerican content however bar says that there was no evidence that they were involved with any terrorist activity or groups also its important to note. 15 individuals were found to have accessed child pornography now bar says that saudi arabia determined the material demonstrated conduct unbecoming of an officer in the Saudi Royal Air force and the royal navy and as a result those 21 cadets have been an enrolled and they are all returning to saudi arabia at this shooting has now made the pentagon halt any Flight Training for saudi military aviation students at 3 florida bases National Security adviser Robert Obrien said that u. S. Officials and defense secretary mark asper are proceeding with caution saying quote pensacola showed that there are errors in the way that we vetted and out of an abundance of caution secretary asper has taken these actions to protect our servicemen and women. Released cofounder joined a song that was back in court on monday we will give you the latest news on his extradition case after a short break desserts and much. On this edition of crossfire we conduct a postmortem of the recent us around conflict what has changed in what bodes for the future issues the mainstream Corporate Media refuse to discuss. Is your media a reflection of reality. In a world transformed. What will make you feel safe. Isolation community. Are you going the right way or are you being led so. What is true what is. In the world corrupted you need to descend. To join us in the depths. Or a made in the shallows. Come back this is our to international now which leads cofounder Julian Assange was in court in london on monday for a routine administrative hearing on his possible extradition to the us during the session of the lawyers were granted more time after they complained of not having the opportunity to go over case files with their client our video agency ruptly was there when a song was seen exiting the court and a crowd of his supporters had gathered to protest against his extradition assad is currently serving time in a british high security jail for skipping bail while waiting on his full extradition hearing set for next month the us has indicted him on 17 counts of espionage and one count of conspiracy to hack a government computer back in 2010 the australian whistleblower published classified mill. Terry cables allegedly outlining u. S. War crimes. He was forcibly removed by British Police from the Ecuadorian Embassy in london after the country terminated his 7 year asylum there. Huge funds it meant to boost areas in africa are driving slavery on the continent that is the claim being made by human rights organizations against the e. U. s Infrastructure Project in eritrea the bid to improve the Eastern African nation has been described as involving years of forced labor partys taylor reports. If youve been on a 2 covey if your t. Back harboring a hidden disease is your neighbor planning on eating your pepperoni dont worry it is got a regulation for everything but according to human rights organizations its failed miserably to regulate its own behavior and it all started with an apparently innocent bed to boost security and eritrea will launching 20000000. 00 euro program to rebuild the roads connecting both countries this will boost straight consolidate stability and have good benefits for the citizens of both countries through the gratian of Sustainable Growth and jobs so far so good unless of course youre the one put to work on this great collaboration because the chances are youre forced conscript the african nation has Compulsory National Service that used to last for 18 months but now sees people trapped in over 20 years its a practice its been likened by human rights organizations the un and the European Parliament to mass in slave meant conscripts compared National Service to modern day slavery saying this for torture and other ill treatment which we rest in like basic sanitation and hygiene form a conscript 72 hour weeks and harsh conditions with no food and pay equivalent to 17. 00 a month its one of the main reasons eritrea is called the worlds fastest emptying country as young men continue to mass exodus but despite knowing conscripts were being used generally the delicate situation in a country that was a lot in a guerrilla war for 3 decades the e. U. Says that really had no idea that untoward things were going on. The e. U. Does not pay for labor under this project the project only covers the procurement of materials and equipment to support the rehabilitation of roads in fact the e. U. Doesnt even have an office in eritrea to monitor this ongoing project instead it relies on local authorities the agency is not monitoring the implementation of the project the project is carried out by the government and progress is monitored by the ministry of public works the e. U. Is in trusting its project to an arm of the government which is internationally slammed as one of the worlds worst human rights abuses which the u. N. Describes as authoritarian and repressive and which lived under a un sanctions for 9 years its almost as if the e. U. Has something at stake here other than creating great roads of course like stemming the tide of migrants for example because 2016. 1000 eritreans apply for asylum in the bloc so yes this e. U. Project will lift the local economy and bring peace but crucially it will create jobs and that will keep eritreans in their homeland and not crossing on both to european shorts. In directly supporting this project by. Material to help build the road problem is that what they need to make sure is that any support going to eritrea is not. Some mentoring this incredibly repressive system and there are trends the land by the way which happens to be one of the most strategic areas in the world its coast runs along the red sea which is a key link between europe and asia its also an ideal access point to an African Market with low labor costs and its a Natural Resource a gold mine with gas gold oil zinc you name it eritreas got it eric harris obviously placed in a very strategic location along the red sea it is the access to. See ethiopia and from the european point of view it is obviously one of the countries which many Asylum Seekers here in europe are coming from and that coming up next because of the human rights situation so it seems that when youve got something to gain its easier to be tough anonymous than your own employment will. Desire to international backed up there with more so there was. No money in the news in miami. About what it was it was a bit. More about. What we would in the side of the. Scene that im going to get but im before. Them by the. By the imam obama. And the United States president ial candidates debate the future of the u. S. And the world. Max kaiser and Stacy Herbert dig into the burning questions of this election cycle one topic every week will sticks student debt trade wars corporate money universal basic. And more catch up with whats front running this sunday exclusively on r. T. Hello and welcome to cross talk where all Things Considered im Peter Lavelle on this edition of crossfire as we conduct a post mortem of the recent us around conflict what has changed and what bodes for the future issues the mainstream Corporate Media refuse to discuss. Crosscutting some real news im joined by my guest going these and is a professor at the Higher School of economics as well as author of that case of western civilization and resurgence of russia we also have Dmitri Bobbitt she is a political analyst and editor in a semi internet media project and he and the london across alexander macarius he is a writer on Legal Affairs as well as editor in chief of the duran dot com our german crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciated let me go to alexander in london you know over the past 10 days or so weve heard the term escalation deescalation purports tional and one of the things i think that is mr very much is the how the behave the behavior on the side of the leadership in iran and in washington we term asymmetrical was used all of the time and i think indeed it was asymmetrical but for very very Different Reasons to iran was being strategic and