Transcripts For ALJAZAM America Tonight 20130910

Gestures towards dealing with these chemical weapons. President obama did call the russian suggestion a break through. Hes not confident congress would authorize a diplomatic strike if no solution is found. Bashar alassad in an interview warned if reprisal attacks if his country is the target of a strike. Those are the headlines. America tonight is next. On america tonight the diplomatic brink or was it 00 blink . Did the chief u. S. Diplomat slip up . Sometimes you have to shake hands with the devil. Also, tonight, a new high. How legalized pot is helping entrepreneurs grow their own businesses. I wouldnt have guessed that the food i put on my stability is ultimate reply funded by million marijuana. And an insiders view of a closed society, replyin polygam. And the terror that keeps many women from escaping. Good evening and welcome to america tonight. Im joie chen. For the first time in three weeks, since those horrifying pictures emerged, the men, women and children struck down by what was quite apparently a chemical gas attack, for the first time today there are strong signals that the white house is ready to back off of its repeated threats to punish syria with a ship strike. It took us from london to moscow to damascus, the Obama Administration has set its firmest line yet, if the Syrian Regime would give up its supply of chemical weapons. If Bashar Alassad lets loose of his chemical supply are we on pause . Absolutely. I consider this a modestly positive development. You know john kerry is going to talk to his counterparts, and were going to run this to ground. I dont think that we would have godden to this point unless we had maintained a credible possibility of a military strike and i dont think nows the time for us to let up on that. But my objective here has always been to deal with a very specific problem. So what ive said specifically is, i want to make sure that that norm against use of chemical weapons is maintained. Thats in our National Security interest. If we can do that without a military strike that is overwhelmingly my preference and now the key is can we see with a sense of urgency language and a man that is enforceable and favorable that accomplishes that. Sheila macvicar has led our coverage. So tonight sheila tell us what led to what appears to be a break through . The president used the word potential break through as if its in a potential. This takes place months years, glacial pace, behind closed doors. What happened today is nothing short of headspinning and all in front of a camera. After weeks of looking like contentious strikes of u. S. Against syria was the only are potential, now potentially theres another game in town. Sure he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons in the International Community in the next week, turn it over, all of it. Without delay. And allow the full and total accounting for that. But he isnt about to do it. And cant be done. Obviously. The state Department Later said secretary kerry was merely taking a rhetorical point. Not a serious proposition. But by then, his words had been seized on in moscow. We dont know if syria greezs to it but if putting chemical weapons in this country under International Control averts the military strikes then we will melimmediately get to work on ts with damascus. The foreign minister was on the phone. During our talks with minister lavrov this morning, i determined that syria welcomes the proposal, the security of our country and because it believes in the wisdom of the russian leadership. At the same time, at the headquarters of the u. N. Secretary general ban dmoo kimn was already proposing. That is the proper thing for syria to do, im sure that the International Community will have a very swift action. To make sure that these stocks, chemical weapons stocks, will be stored safely. And will be destroyed. The first reaction in washington came from hillary clinton, fresh from a meeting with president obama. She called the situation fluid. If the regime immediately surrendered its stock piles to International Control, as was suggested by secretary kerry, and the russians, that would be an important step. Saying the u. S. Would take a hard look add the russian proposal, obamas deputy National Security advisor said we would welcome assad giving up his chemical weapons, doing it in a verifiable manner so we can account for them and destroy them. Unfortunately the track record to daylight including recent statements by assad not even acknowledging he has chemical weapons doesnt give you a lot of confidence. And congress all lawmakers found the game had changed when they merged from the meeting. I dont want to get ahead of the administration or in any way theyre going to evaluate that. And this is something very new. See how real it is. See whether or not this could just be a delaying tactic. And also how much a role we want to give russia as far as having an influence over what goes on in the middle east and what our relationship is with syria and iran. A dizzying 11 hours joie. The president did say he met one on one with vladimir putin. That was a short 20 minute meeting on the sidelines of the g20. So it is clear this idea was being discussed over some period of time. But even when all this was going on sheila, you were on capitol hill yourself, and do you have the sense the press continues . Full on press seven Television Interviews speech to the nation tomorrow night. But it gives you an idea how enthusiastic or unenthusiastic those on the hill are when theyre looking at an initiative from russia as maybe being the best possible way. Another big event today, the Senate Majorities leader, harry reid postponed a vote we expected on this issue on wednesday, not clear parliamentary reason, they dont have the votes or have the votes, in the house there is no evidence that the nos are winning the day with the leaning no at 238, undecided 169 and yes votes stalled at 26. And thats almost no growth at all as we have been watching this over the day. Sheila in addition to hearing from president obama we also heard from the other president important here, Bashar Alassad. Bashar alassad gave an interview to charlie rose. Its clear theyre not the only one taking a look at American Public opinion. Assad specifically referenced the polls here showing six in ten of americans are not in favor of these strikes. Talked about how these u. S. Strikes would support what he called al qaeda. And also, knowing that the fear of retaliation and what happens the day after strikes, are playing large in the minds of lawmakers here. He talked about that retaliation. He talked about what his plans were and when asked if there would be retaliation, he simply applied, you can expect anything. Sheila you know even as all this apparent shift might be taking place, we are looking closely to that, the white house has kept up its campaign to win over the American Public also, capitol hill. Joining us is steve horseford from nevada. He is one of the people president obama would like to win over. Have you come to a decision yet . I havent. Im one of the undecided members. Im listening to my constituents first and foremost, attending every briefing. I think ive gone to ten including one today . Including one today, including the white house, we had with the National Security advisor susan rice. And president obama took questions from the congressional black caucus. This is an important decision to the American Interest im a new member and i take my decision very seriously. What are they going to give you for information now . What will win over your decision at this point, what have you not heard . My focus has been on three areas, is first is there not a coalition much partners . Why is american acting without partners . What is the cost . I have an air force base in my district where thousands of people have been laid off. Many who are taking furlough days and cuts in their pay, and this is money that is going to be diverted from other parts of the department of defense budget. And the third concern and probably the most important one is what are the objectives after the strike . Obviously, the underlying issue here is the civil war in syria. That is not going to be addressed from a strike alone. And we want to hear from the president , what the Long Term Strategy is in syria. And in the region as a whole. You were at the white house today when this whole thing with russia was developing. Did they talk to you about this russia proposal, what kind of credibility they give it the chance of actually Going Forward and turning into something thats viable . Yes, the National Security advisor susan rice whos dealt with our nations interest and negotiating with others in the world around these issues, you know, expressed some amount of optimism that this is something that could be evaluated. But cautioned that if it doesnt work out, that we still need to have a clear determination from the congress on this authorization to strike, which the president has asked for. Im sure youve heard a lot from your earnings sw on this and reached out to them your constituents and reaching out to them on what they have to stay. Is there value trying to stage a strike at this points . Clearly, trying to have an alternative to placing our men and women in this type of military action is the preferable alternative. Although a there wont be boots open the ground related to the strike, there is concern that an ongoing involvement if there is a response from the assad regime that we may in fact end up with troops there. And that is the biggest concern that ive heard from my constituents. Im having another town hall tomorrow where i will listen to my constituents. I spent the latter part of last week meeting with people throughout my district. And but overwhelmingly, people are concerned. They have questions. And theyre not ready to enter into a new military conflict at this time. You know, senator mccain had suggested earlier today that he thought that perhaps the russian proposal would make it easier to get votes in support of this, that in fact if they walked it down, if they did go towards this notion okay were going to let syria have this chance to disarm, does that make you want to support the American Action . I think the larger question should be how we eliminate chemical weapons from any country, whether it be syria, the potential in iran and north korea, or groups of hezbollah. These are the issues of the day and all of us should be striving towards the elimination of chemical weapons. We have not used chemical weapons against other countries nor have chemical weapons been used against the United States since world war 1 and that is a significant progress. And i think we need to continue towards the goal of eliminatingg weapons. Sheila, is congressman horsefords experience similar to others across the aisle . It doesnt matter if you are a republican or democrat. The kinds of concerns that are being expressare all the same kind of expressed are all the same kind of concern. Expressed war weariness, weve had enough, we dont know whats going to come out of it. Im sure those are the things you are hearing in your district too. You oar democrat but not echoing the president s line just buying it. This is not to do with partisanship. I do respect the president s position and the secretary of defense and the secretary of state. While i trust their leadership i also have to make an independent judgment and one that i can justify to my constituents. And so thats why im looking forward to the president s address tomorrow and hoping that he will answer these critical questions that many of my constituents have. We will is all of us being listening here, congressman horseford. Thank you very much. Special note to our viewers, america tonight will bring you special coverage of the president s speech and also an opportunity for america to be heard. Al jazeeras antonio mora and i will address what u. S. Action on syria will mean to all of us and well take questions from our studio and online audience as well. Thats the syria debate. And america tonight town hall, following the president s address on al jazeera america. And when america tonight returns tonight, setting up shop for a new crop and a new customer. Colorados new gold rush and the heady product thats got the feds on high alert. On capitol hill tuesday senators are scheduled to take up high times, and it could be a pot bust. So far, 20 states and the District Of Columbia passed medical marijuana laws but that doesnt make it legal at the federal level. And in january, cd will take it one colorado will take it one step further. As america tonights laurie jane griha reports, theyre rushing to cash in. Andy joseph is a small town businessman a navy veteran a father of five. You would never suspect he is also a pot entrepreneur. The garage right next ohusband house is where he runs his his house is where he runs his business. A business about to be booming, all because of marijuana, a drug illegal in his state. I would never guess that the food i put on my table is ultimately funded by medical marijuana. Joseph invented this machine. Its used to extract botanical oil, like vanilla, mint or this cayenne pepper. You dump this into the machine . Yes. In the last year and a half he has seen an uptick in sales. Most people wouldnt tell us that they were doing cannabis. It wasnt after several conversations that they actually run cannabis through the thing. Josephs wife kristin was skeptical. I laughed and thought, this is a real business now. Entrepreneurs seeking to break into a new market for medical marijuana frowcts, began buying his machine that 18,000 to 100,000 a pop, for pot infused foods. What did you think, when people were using your product for cannabis extraction . They were distracting. They immediately think you are a drug dealer. Im the farthest thing from a drug dealer. But joseph is part of the drug gold rush. The industries are an entrepreneurs dream. At Dixie Elixirs one of josephs machines is hard at work. Today the cannabis oil is going into a chewy chocolate candy, that looks like a tootsie roll. These can be sold at medical marijuana dispensaries for recreational purposes. Business is expected to skyrocket. No matter who you talk to its a billion dollar industry here in the state of colorado alone. Trip keeber is the owner of Dixie Elixirs. In 2014 we will see a million of half a million consumers, in addition to that that could be as high as 3 million visitors in the state interested in having a relationship with the plant. In the past three years, keyber said selling 85 different pot infused foods. This is the most exciting opportunity ive personally been involved in. At the end of the day, it makes me a little bit giddy. I got involved with pot about 12, 13, and probably about 14 years old i got high every day. For jake, a machinist in denver, Legal Marijuana is like a dream come true. You pick up a bag like you pick up your cigarettes or coffee. That is removing the drug dealers, taxes are coming off, helping schools, everything is a good thing. Right now we grow in a 5,000 square foot space. Were trying to triple it. Recreational seamtion becomee legal in january. Those will each house 5,000 square feet of additional growth space. Betts set, the growth is exciting but it comes with real risks. The biggest one is its still considered a schedule 1 drug by the feds. Worst Case Scenario we open our doors to the people over 21 and the federal dea takes all of our product and arrests us. Thats what happened to some dispensaries in california. A cautionary tale for the pot business. After medicinal dispensaries exploded in 2009 and 2010 federal authorities cracked down, raiding marijuana affiliated businesses. This is a hawaiian afghani. My organization, harbor Side Health Center has been the target of multiple federal agencies who have been using everything that they can, short of actually arresting me and putting me on trial in front of a jury. Steve de angelo cofounded harbor Side Health Center in oakland, california, the largest medical dispensary in the country with nearly 130,000 registered patients. The dispensary appears to be thriving but its legal situation is fragile. The Justice Department is seeking civil forfeiture of the building where harbor side operates, charging its in violation of federal drug laws. The reason theyre doing that i think is they want to frighten every other Property Owner in the country and keep them from leasing their premises to medical marijuana operators. Forcing many of them to become all cash businesses. Last year we paid about 1. 5 million to the city in taxes. And we make those payments on a weekly basis. We have to actually transparent huge piles transport huge piles of owner currents down to the Tax Collector to make those payments. Its dangerous. David Wedding Dress or dress, says getting a bank loan is a challenge. At one point i generated a list of all the banks and Credit Unions across the state. And i definitely called 100 of them in a twoweek span. Were distinctly seen as the leader in this industry. They figure if they can scare us out of business, it makes it easier to scare all the smaller people out. Its not clear whether aspiring marijuana moguls in other states will share harborsides fates. The Obama Administration changed hinged its tune recently announcing it wouldnt go after pot regulation as long as theres robust regulation. Colorado is often seen as a model for other states. So colorados pot entrepreneurs may be in business. From merrick tonights laurie jane gliha. A sect leader locked up for sexually abusing children. But officials fear his influence is still being felt even from behind bars. Its a very oppressive atmosphere. Its ruled with an iron fist by warren jeffs. How one family turned its back on an oppressive community and still got away. c] and now a snapshot of stories make place on america tonight. A portrait of vincent van gogh, called sunset at mount majeur, the painting found in an attic in norway, its owner thought it was a fake. Philadelphia Public Schools, lasts are larger, budgets are smaller, 3800 staff are laid off . But many are still protesting pay and benefit cuts. The Egyptian Military invaded sinai, after an al qaeda leader said one of his own was responsible for the attack on the egyptian minister. A warning from officials in arizona, what they describe as one of the worst abuse he of human rights is happening right now, in america. Young women, children themselves forced into pol polygamyous relationships. Its a whole new life for these young children. Simple pleasures like eating watermelon on a heart arizona afternoon. Even playing with toys. They were things forbidden to them. Their mother, ruby jessop, was married to a much older man. She and her six children fled the fundamentalist church that ruled her life. What was it like . It was nervous and overjoyed. I felt like my kids were going to be brain washed, not wanting to go with me at all. The fear of, i hait you mom hate you mom, youve done bad. The fear ran through my head, are they going to love me the same way they did. Do they . They do. Ruby was in the religion of flds, warren jeffs, a man with 78 wives two dozen under the age of 17. In 2011 jeches was convicted of child jeffs was convicted of child sexual assault. State and federal Officials Say jeffs is still running the show in Colorado City. Its a very oppressive atmosphere ruled by an iron fist by jeffs controlled by prison. Arizona attorney general tom horn is a vocal critic of flds, hes paid for a county sheriffs officer to be stationed at the town and hes leading an effort to disband the local forest called marshals. If a marshal doesnt follow the issues of the church, he would be ex communicated, take the wives and children and give them to another family. Some people say to me, if the police are acting badly why dont you discipline them . We do that but each time a policeman is decertified they have a clone to take his place. Last year, they sued the town in federa Federal District courr multiple ongoing civil Rights Violations including discrimination and intimidation of nonmembers. Ruby jessop knows that intimidation firsthand. She managed to get custody of her children with the help of the attorney Generals Office. Now she and her children live in phoenix. For the first time, the jessop children are in Public Schools. Warren jeffs has forbidden flds children to attend Public Schools since the year 2000. Flora fled jeffs years ago and now shes an antipolygamy activist. The women are taught that the children belong to the priesthood. I told her, dont leave your babies. Trust me, you have the right to your children. Ruby jessop said her husband worked as a dispatcher for town marshals. She claims the marshals tried to stop her even throwing out the court order. Ruby was forced to get help from the county sheriff. Did you fear you wouldnt see your kids again . Definitely. Use the church has a rule that if one parent leaves both kids, the church owns those kids. I cant let my kids be owned by someone. America tonight traveled to Colorado City to see the situation firsthand. We met up with gary ing ingeall. He has been working on the cases for nine years. Theres not one of those people thats working for the city that isnt a member in Good Standing of the flds church. That information goes into the police dispatch. The there are cameras all over there. You can see one camera on the roof up there. They know theres an outsider . Yes. They knew you were here . They knew i was here the mini hit town. We tried to talk to residents of the town. Can we talk to you . Okay, have a good day. All politely declined. Ingals say the church even control what thering people eat. The storehouse is located behind these high walls. I. T. Operates just like calls do. The one person is in charge. Warren jeffs can take your family away from you, warren jeffs can take your house away from you, and warren jeffs most of all can take your salvation away from you, thats what these people believe. Has the situation gotten better or worse since hes been in prison . I think that theyre getting worse for the flds. More extreme . More extreme. Even though warren jeffs is locked up the situation in Colorado City is worse . Oh definitely, way worse. Theres no marriages thats happening because warren is the only man that can actually performing marriages. Theres no sexual contact between husband and wife. Theyve stopped Sexual Activity between husbands and wives . Within the last year. The only communication that you can have is a handshake and no longer than three seconds. With your spouse . With your spouse. He wants to have total human control over everybody up there. In a Rare Exchange with an outsider, lenore said she experienced discrimination personally. She claims town marshals wouldnt protect her from her husband whom she said was physically abusive, particularly since shes no longer in Good Standing with the church. Are you going to get out of here some day . Work not. How important is it to you . Well, i feel like especially since i was like cast out of the meetings and the church, and i also watched my family be dissolved, i need to put the children around more structured lifestyle. And keep them away from this corrupt manipulative lifestyle. The problem is, theres no way we can right the wrongs here. All we can try to do is try to change the future here, to try to get these cities to operate normally, like any other city would. A part of that is going to be controlling how they do business. State officials claim one way the town does business is by controlling property. The flds church owns nearly all the land here which allowed them to control churc members by threatening to kick them out of their homes. Now the Utah Attorney Generals Office is trying to return those Property Rights to private citizens. Isaac wiler is part of that. But flds members have not been cooperative. Often moving in and out of homes in the middle of the night. America tonight followed along. Has illegally occupied a vacant home. This is the same response we get, nothing. [ knocking ] they wont come to the door. No one answers the door but we knew someone was inside. Earlier we witnessed a woman and a boy enter the home. After they spotted us they never came back outside to close the trunk of their van. Housing conflicts can get heated. In this video from 2010 a young couple who left the Church Generations ago but wanted to stay in their home is roughed up by local marshals. Wiler says his role in property violations has made him the target of years of harassment. Weve had people shoot, run them down over vehicles, cut the fence hoping they would get hit. Why are they doing this for you . They wanted to drive me out of town. They thought i was against warren jeffs which i was. Warren jeffs declined an interview from his texas prison sale. We requested interviews from the Colorado City mayor but he declined. Colorado city has been investigated by half a does of county state and federal agencies, the doj is suing the city. Why has there been so much interest in Colorado City . It is an easy target. I represent a lot of municipalities in colorado, i dont see any distinction between how colorado runs its town and how nir other city runs its town. The only difference is theres a religion in Colorado City that people find very interesting. One of the people we spoke to was attorney general tom horn of arizona. He says his priority is to tries to disband the Colorado City police department. He says they serve the means of the flds church. We have bent waiting for evidence for years and years and years and years. Its mr. Mayor midnight and the nearby town of hurricane, from holding out help, a nonprofit that aids people to escape from polygamy, a brother and sister from Colorado City. Your family has recently been split up due to some of the members being deemed worthy and the other members of the family having been deemed unworthy. Once youre deemed unworthy youre basically cut off from the food rations that the communities gives you. Tools clientsdz have taken shelter in the unused trailer after being told by Church Elders to leave their parents home. Im a small town girl from nebraska. Had no idea this was happening in the United States of america. And let me tell you its a complete injustice. I think attorney generals from utah and arizona are doing the very best they can with the information they have been given but you cant help from people who wont speak up for anybody else. They dont want to cause problems for the people who are still in there so they choose uo do nothing. The scene we observed was sobering. Two young people cut off from their community now dependent on strangers for food. Back in phoenix ruby jessop and their kids are beginning a new life. You let your brother call you a chicken . If you had decided to stay in Colorado City what do you think life would have been like for your kids . Thats what i was trying to get away from. Was getting my daughters to be married at such a young age. Id gone through it, i didnt want to put my kids through it. I want them to make their own decisions. Mothers have a choice too. Its not just the children. Its the mommies get a choice too. You must be so proud of her. I am. Im superproud. Those jessop children now happy in their new environment. Earlier in the summer we attended a meeting between the Utah Attorney general and dozens of people who left the flds church years ago. You have to understand that all of the Community Land was controlled by the flds church. The court is trying to work out a plan to split up the property. Were talking about 100 million in assets and thats just at this area in arizona and Colorado City. And talk about things that havent changed, warren jeffs is still trying oreach out and communicate behind bars . War jeffs has sent a series of letters this summer to elected officials across the country including arizonas attorney general tom horn. In these letters he makes some dire predictions some revelations, you if you will, that there will be destruction on earth, some of these are very specific and some of the investigators that have been following flds this concerns them because they are fearing that maybe at some time warren jeffs could order members of their own group to do something to harm themselves. People are keeping oclose eye on what he writes. This may go beyond this area as well. Hundreds of people were taken from this compound and they found that dozens of young girls were forced into underage marriages and already parents themselves and just recently in british columbia, an investigation an flds offshoot being investigated for tax issues and mounted police in canada are trying to determine if there have been any incidents of child sexual abuse. These groups are still talking to you as well, still reaching out and hoping for a way out. They are and thats really a hard issue for a lot of the women in Colorado City. It is not easy to pick up and leave. They have absolutely no resources in their own. They dont have a checkbook or debit card, they cant pick up and leave and dont have job training. How do you get out of a situation like this . Luckily there are groups working within the area of Colorado City trying to give these women and children assistance. We hope you follow up, adam may, america mid correspondent. Ahead, serious war, millions of people caught in the middle forced to survive in refugee camps. The touching story about how americans are rallying to give war refugees a fighting chance. Welcome back. The ongoing tragedies in syria often amount to what seems like one chaotic emergency room. Some of the desperate calls for help are being answered now by spirited Syrian Americans and a network of dedicated physicians. Volunteers from the Syrian American medical society are doing everything they can to help their own people. 90 of the medical infrastructure in syria is completely destroyed. There is 10 million syrians who are in a way refugees, even inside or outside syria. Left without their insulin, diabetes medicine, we start getting medication for chronic conditions, trying to keep these people alive. We send them to border countries, turkey jordan lebanon to the field hospitals inside syria. In the beginning people start going to the regular hospitals and instead of being treated they are being killed. So people stopped going to hospitals. Even private hospitals were not allowed to treat injuries. The need was, you need small basement hospitals, hidden small rooms, to change into emergency room. But these rooms have nothing in them. So they were treating people with napkins and basic equipment and so we had to we were in contact with the doctors inside all the time, what do you need and we started collecting information from here and trying to find ways of sending inside syri in different ways. I decided to come here because my family when they moved from palestine through syria and jordan, some of them passed away, i didnt want to end up like my relates. All in the middle east, didnt want to end up dead and wanted a happy life. Well, everybody here has a certain reason for volunteering. My personal reason would be, i lost my father about a year ago. So everything becomes real, once actually some real aspects of whats going on there hits you personally. It becomes very real. So thats why the dedication and the passion to those refugees is my main concern right now other than school. [ horn honking ] every person who goes there trying to do something is risking their lives. We lose doctors and nurses all the time. I know these families i know the doctors from syria and my friends. When i went to jordan its like wheres your husband . He tells me hes been in one basement for the last year and a half. He could not get outside that basement, he sleep 247 in that area. If he leaves one minute outside that place he is killed. Every doctor works inside syria he is risking his life every minute. At any minute an air strike can come and destroy the hospital or somebody will come in and just kill everybody inside. So far like Syrian American medical society has more than 300 suitcases to the different countries, jordan lebanon and turkey and a lot of them are already in the field hospitals. You get feedback inside the field hospitals inside syria that we received trauma pads, we received sutures and medical equipment and already we sent also about four huge containers. The container is full of medical supplies and pallets. There is sleepless nights, there are nights that you are feeling backed up into this corner. You are doing all this stuff to help, but you dont, because you are only helping a small percentage. Theres millions of refugees. You feel emotionally suppressed in a sense, that this is still going to go on and there is still thousands dying every day and thousands that need help every day. How many people can help in such a time . And that no one is giving anybody a chance is just killing me. And i think that just enough shooting. Still goes on. Like, no shooting for one day but keeps going on. And herea special note to our viewers. Coming up on tuesday on america tonight, well bring you special coverage of t the president s message and an opportunity for all america to be heard. Key figures from capitol hill the military and other experts as well. That is syria debate, americas town hall tuesday on al jazeera america. And still here tonight, flying high, where whats old is new again. Finally from us tonight, the twin otter canadas most iconic airplane, is a fix your in some remote parts of the world. Tonight we take off from vick yah. Al jazeeras daniel lack. Think of it not as a sports car but a pickup truck. One that flies and can take off and land almost anywhere, with a few hundred meters of space. Its hard to imagine a more versatile aircraft than canadas twin o otter. Just ask any pilot. You find a pilot to start to fly the twin otter, and they just want to fight a twin otter and fly nothing else. But being rugged and popular didnt stop the twin otter from going out of production in 1988. It simply didnt fit Business Plan at boeing which owned the company at the time. Enter viking air, an Aircraft Parts maker in western canada that bought the original designs and started make twin otters in 1988. Producing a new one every ten days. Ive been, placing aircraft in asia and africa, going into the uae. One aircraft does all those jobs. Conceived as oway to move canadians through their often harsh aircraft, it is the aircraft of choice. At its heart say the new manufacturers its really all about canada. Its a very canadian airplane. We would never have been able to sell to some of the customers that we were talking to earlyon, without that kind of recognition of a great canadian airplane. With more than 800 aircraft produced since the 1960s, this is a plane that will be carrying people and goods around the world for decades to come. Ahead of its time. It first flew half a century ago and now the world is rediscovering this remarkable aircraft that seems to be able to take off fly and land in almost any conditions. Daniel lack, al jazeera, victoria. Talk about taking flight again. That is it force us here on america tonight. Coming up tuesday, america tonight will bring you both special coverage to the president s address to the American People on his syria plans and an opportunity for america to be heard. Were going to host a live town hall meeting. That is syria debate at america tonight town hall tuesday after the president s address here on al jazeera america. And if you would like to comment on anything youve seen on our program tonight please log on to our website, aljazeera. Com america tonight. There you can meet our team, can you get sneak previews of stories were working on and talk about our night reply affairs program. More tonight on our special town hall, the debate on syria tomorrow. Well see you then. Victor. Welcome to al jazeera. Im john siegenthaler. Here are the headlines. A potential solution has been placed by russia, it wants the chemical weapons to be put under International Control and destroyed. Jeact john kerry suggested it could avoid a strike if it turned over all of its weapons by the end of the week. President obama called the russian proposal a potential break through. During an interview with Television Networks the president remains skeptical, and hes not confident that congress wi to autor