I dont think that the criticism origin you know that is shown great speech speeches important country and tanks in the street and i feel scared its kind of which the many actually this is one of it is. Celebrations of the 4th of july that ive ever seen is being Independence Day i suppose the military aspect of the fight for independence does tourist board make with a fake. Display and that. Is set up basically to stroke your ego all International System to protect. Also coming up tonight an exclusive report on wife after jihad. W. Talks with former islam is the militants in somalia getting a rare chance at a 2nd chance hands of in somalia and a town once under siege by outside bob a program is being implemented so we have been to take one extremist fighters but the hope of peace there may be integrating them into society. To our viewers on p. B. S. In the United States and all around the world welcome we begin the day with americas Birthday Party that this year some americans cant wait to attend some americans are boycotting and its a party with v. I. P. C. For some and no invitations for father thats right on this 4th of july americans have been gathering on the National Mall in washington d. C. As they do every year but this year the declaration of independence and 776. 00 the founding of the country well theyre not the stars of the show this year the military might of the u. S. Is center stage and it sharing the stage with the u. S. President trump have said that his salute to america parade was inspired by the steel day parade that he witnessed in paris 2 years ago were now an american version of the show. That were going to see on constitution avenue but rolling out the military hardware it has the hallmarks of what we expect to see on red square in moscow of soviet or a russian show of military muscle some former u. S. Military officers have even compared todays parade in washington with the parades that north korea loves to show the world soldiers not citizens displayed as goose stepping symbols of military and authoritarian power. Humphrey is in washington she was amid the crowds watching the independence parade heres what she still. The president promised a show like no other and the parade wrapping up now was just the start is certainly a departure from the history with its display of military hardware including an air force one fly over and 4 tanks stationed around washington d. C. Not since president truman 7 decades ago when the u. S. Was at war with korea has the country seen such a presence of military equipment many out here today a wearing make America Great again hats theyre waving trump 2025 anas a veteran of the vietnam war told me that this is the 1st time that he feels that the military has been properly on it but not everyone is happy the democrats say that this patriotic day should not become a political one with particular reference to trumps salute to americas speech later protest groups like the antiwar Group Code Pink are also outs with the trump baby balloon not seen since protests in london this is a show like no other a costly one in a divided country but the president clearly believes its worth the hefty price tag. And that was Helen Humphrey reporting from washington my 1st guest tonight says that military parades are nothing new in the United States especially during the 1st half of the 20th century in his book welcome home boys military victory parades in new york city from 8992946 examines how military victory parades became part of u. S. Cultural memory and even helped to define concepts such as the nation state the best in europe is a professor of u. S. History at the j. F. K. Institute at the Free University here in berlin and he joins me tonight here at the big table professor dobbs its good to have you on the day i want to talk about this parade in washington today just a moment but 1st i want to ask you about this this tradition i mean america does have a history of military victory parades doesnt it absolutely i mean it goes back at least to the end of disavowal war when union troops marched for 2 days through washington d. C. If you think about the spanishamerican war or both world wars or last seen in 1901 after the 2nd gulf war american troops marching for victory parades in new york city so there is a longer tradition of that but we have to be honest it has a different kind of thrust and we see or that at least i expect for todays parade because soldiers are center stage and soldiers as citizens are performing on the street and today as you mentioned earlier i think donald trump a political leader will play a central role in that parade and its kind of deviating from this american model it deviates in the me ask you that how would how would you define the parade that were seeing today. There is a big emphasis so 1st of all whats interesting is the combination of the 4th of july rather peaceful so the bracing that is being celebrated rather by local parades a picnic you mentioned that earlier and bringing in the military element is kind of new jew this peaceful Event Community event in washington d. C. On the National Mall usually a fireworks in the night and you have people hanging out to be honest enjoying their free day their day off so this is a new element in their kind of militarism were going to witness that i expect were going to witness this kind of Old Fashioned masculine. Military intervention that is different its interesting you say that i want you to take a listen to what a former colonel in the u. S. Military said today about trumps injection of the military into independent states take a listen listen military equipment is totally inappropriate to be here on the 4th of july which is a national on political holiday for the United States and yet President Trump is still in it to be the National Holiday president. Several things there she is saying that this is about the cult of personality around President Trump but shes also saying that hes hes militarized Independence Day do you agree. I mean as i said bringing in tanks and fighter planes is something that we have not seen recently on the 4th of july on the National Mall it connects to traditions but that were form of the that are present in us history of victory parades and the celebration of the National Holiday but what is interesting is that what i find important is that soldiers dont take the center stage because if you go back like 100 years of the one you saw parades were Wounded Soldiers were presented in the parades where the Fallen Soldiers were represented in the parades and parades were an event to build a community but also to take care of these citizen soldiers yeah i mean you bring up a good point too were not seeing soldiers in the parade and we know that leaders at the pentagon were reluctant to give the president what he wanted to day and we also know the president from. Used a medical reason to get out of serving in the vietnam war so all of these elements that have nothing to do with the military are coming together for the military. And so what does the message there then you have a president whos never served in the military insisting that the generals sit around him i mean that is a conversation that goes on and on with various president s you had that with president clinton the ninetys who also did not serve in vietnam and military people were talking about that but i think there is a history to that donald trump has been using rather nonpartisan events for political purposes if you think about the boy Scout Jamboree a couple of years ago where he trash talked about them in france or his visit to iraq to visit the troops where he trashed democrats so its what i expect honestly today as well that hell be using it for his own political gains and let me just quickly youre a historian do you think that the discussion today would be different. If if people were more aware of their own history i mean do you think the u. S. President is able to manipulate the public because they dont know when the constitution was signed for example things like that i think we have an informed public there are protesters today in washington d. C. Protesting this and its and this kind of coming nation so im hopeful that there is a discourse going on a critical discourse about this were hopeful as well professors of must in europe with the Free University here in berlin 1st we appreciate you coming in for thanks for having me show your insights thank you thank you. The Somali Militant Group alshabaab has been waging a Violent Campaign in somalia for more than a decade their aim is to replace the un backed government in to impose radical islamist wall and African Union force controls the capital mogadishu but alshabaab still controls about 20 percent of the country the government is now offering amnesty and rehabilitation to some militants who are willing to leave the group used Melanie Curie the ball was given rare access to one Rehabilitation Center in you belong province she spoke to former militants there about why they decided to leave alshabaab and the nightmares that they still have. They were part of a killing machine terrorizing somalias population but now theyre asking for forgiveness this facility in juba land its home to 86 young man who used to fight for one of the deadliest islamist extremist groups in the world. Here in Southern Somalia in a town once under siege by al shabaab a program is being implemented to rehabilitate extremist fighters with the hope of peacefully reintegrating them into society. The former fighters here mostly men aged between 24 and 29 have been granted amnesty and are seeking a 2nd chance 2 of them are willing to share why they decided to defect. For their safety and security they have withheld their location and Real Identities but calling them that. He says i was just 15 years old when he joined the group 5 years ago but the warden book could be you know at 1st people join because the religion they say theyre promoting religion but this is just a front actually theyre killing innocent people for no reason or another thought it was going to go. Similarly who joined us above at the age of 16 to 18 years to escape from the group to see. If they also killed muslims in their attack when i saw my people dying i decided i had to break away had been. Through so. Many men growing up in disenfranchised and poor parts of the country been led into joining us above for financial reasons and a sense that belonging. To address this these men now receive locational in training and hands on group classes. I did not know how to live within society i learned that here ive learned how to support myself. But many here are still haunted by nightmare as they struggle to fathom how they were capable of such trying. To 70 kilometers away from this now peaceful town peacekeepers mandated by the African Union are still waging a war against the militant group. But. We have fought a lot and liberated several areas in the past 2 or 3 months. We are also working on a plan to liberate the areas still under the control of alshabaab and hand them over to the somali army. To me. Back at the rehab only taishan facility these young men receive professional psychological support. But above all its companionship and leisure time that are helping them to overcome the trauma. But we can talk to each other about all the things weve done wrong and give each other support about how not to fall back into our destructive ways. For somalia for the birth of a United Government and for my life i hope to work for the benefit of my country and for my people within his scales he sent men to intend to make a positive contribution to society again. To help other young people than the stick of joining up with us but. Their report was produced by my colleague melanie cure of the ball she joins me now from nairobi good evening to you melanie i mean thats an excellent reporting in a story that most people i think would not expect to hear this this is attempts to rehabilitate former jihad is how successful are these rehabilitation programs. It seems very much they are lacking its of course impossible to get your hands on official nationwide numbers statistics in a war torn country that is currently still experiencing an ongoing conflict but in this facility that youve seen in the report almost 300 former fighters have been in rehab and taishan and i have on their way all have already gone back to their communities and to start a life that if the government grants amnesty terry one who wants to leave there is an incentive to do so but of course its incredibly difficult to do that to break from the group the man ive spoken to they told me that they were warned numerous times that they had threats coming their way that lethal violence would be waiting for them if they did the for the group but still they wanted to talk to us because they want to send out a message to those who out there may be considering leaving us about and show them that its possible to do so you know its amazing that theyre even making the effort considering that. Many somalis really realize that theyre still battling in that war with al shabaab how do somalis feel about these programs considering theyve had very bad experiences with the power in the reach of alshabaab. I asked many somalis on the ground how they feel about these programs and surprisingly many told them that they believe this is the only way forward amnesty needs to be granted and there needs to be forgiveness and then needs to be programs such as this one this is the only way that somalia can achieve peace and that can be defeated in the end many have experienced tremendous amounts of violence but many women told me about watching the husbands being killed in front of them they told me about years on the run about being desperate wanting to go back to their villages which isnt impossible because alshabaab is still controlling these areas and its heartbreaking to see that despair fear there is no feeling safe in somalia just yet but there is hope and this program is one of the reasons why there is hope in your report the former al shabaab members that you spoke with they were all min what about the women what role do they play in all of this. Many people believe there are no female members but there are despite the rigid gender norms alshabaab has women form a very important social pod in this base social base in this insurgency they generate funds they spy they smuggle arms they help recruiting in many ways people are surprised because yes women experience a lot of violence under but at the same time in some ways out above is able to offer some benefits that the government isnt to these women for example physical safety very hard to come by in a country where they are often exposed to physical violence so this is something that the government is aware of as well as n. G. O. S and there are programs implemented now for women as well they are about to start and hopefully we can bring in a report from this. You know you speak to the bank of the government cannot guarantee the safety of all the women in the country you know that brings us to you this overriding question why has the government managed to defeat al shabaab i think we have that still control a 5th of the country. There are many factors contributing to this but one big one is money and country plagued by poverty us about has money in many ways you could call them the mafia being able to extort money from the local population and making money by illegally producing and exporting coal another reason is the weakness of the somali state its not able to provide basic services to many somalis who have to tend to. In the absence of these state institutions and finally yes African Union peacekeepers have been able to flush out about from many cities important strategic cities across the country but experts say there are not enough troops in the country to be able to defeat the thousands of fighters out about still has its right is still a lot of work to be done thats for sure the curate of all reporting from nairobi venality thank you we appreciate you bringing a very very important story to the world thank you. But surgeons between iran and the u. S. Could be drawing in britain as well a British Royal marines seized an oil tanker loaded with iranian oil off the coast of japan it is suspected that the oil was on its way to syria in violation of European Union saying sions the marines reportedly descended from helicopters in the early hours of this morning seize the ship which is known as the greece one now the taker was loaded with oil thats its believed to have come from iran and from there you can see the course that this vessel took longer than usual traveling around the continent of africa before being stopped in Gibraltar Authorities suspect that it was planning to cross the mediterranean and headed for a syrian oil refinery tonight there are reports that the United States asked britain to stop the tinkerer irans state run News Agency Says the seizure was illegal. To grace one has been at anchor and under god since the Early Morning british authorities stopped the ship as it passed through spanish territorial waters at gibraltar at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula they say the oil was bound for syria in breach of e. U. Sanctions against the war torn country authorities also say the ship loaded the oil in iran putting the vessel in breach of u. S. Sanctions against tehran. That i want to feel united that would require us to deal was patrolling the zone but were studying the circumstances in which this is taken place there was a request made by the United States to the United Kingdom and we are looking into how this affects our sovereignty in the sense that it took place in waters which we understand are under spains sovereignty last question but any and been able to create. The ship is registered under penalty flag and belongs to a singapore based Company Gibraltar says the vessel and its cargo have been confiscated. Over nor now im joined by Michael Friedman he is the cofounder and executive director of the media why news agency he has reported extensively from the middle east he joins me tonight from jerusalem michael its good to have you back on the show i want to ask you what do we know about spain saying that the United States requested this seizure. That would actually expect exactly that to happen this is part i believe of the series of events that began with the sanctions with which began with the United States pulling out of the Nuclear Agreement when that happened the europeans were very quick to come to the really in one in they wanted to replace the United States actually they want to replace the United States in the worst way and then heres the way its happening. The iranians are sharp theyre sly and they saw an opening here and they said basically go bring us the witches broomstick and that they meant find us a way to sell our oil even though it violates the sanctions and find us a way to circumvent American Financial institution or National Trade both pretty much impossible in this day and age but as long as the europeans were willing to try to do such a thing they were happy to let them do it although they did put a timeline on it and the time is just expired right now not coincidentally at the time of this incident so i really view this incentives going back to the iranians and the americans more so than the spaniards or anybody else and. That the u. K. If this is true that the u. K. Was willing to you know immediately stop this vessel i mean it appears that there were no questions asked they did what the u. S. Asked them to do. Well there has to be a self interest in order for that to happen and for the u. K. To do it that quickly means it was predestined or prearranged you know a contingency plan if this happened then we would do that and it appears that in this case the white house that its ducks in order and everybody knew what they were going to do when it happened and they also obviously expected it to happen. And what is more the story here iran is trying to sell oil for syria trying to get its hands on oil or are they both equal here i mean how do you read this. Whether the story is just confirming what weve known for a while. The in the middle east have changed new alliances and been drawn its still dynamic but the testing in the prodding in the message sending in all that stuff that happens in any real transition and this is part of that transition so were going to see quite a bit of it. Where the great fears come in or the unintended consequences that if the wrong button is pushed at the wrong time or the wrong message is sent to the wrong party or in the wrong way to the right Party Something unintended and disasters happen and thats probably a very accurate reading of the situation for sure Michael Finton joining us tonight from jerusalem Michael Vincent with the Media Line News Agency we appreciate your insights tonight michael thank you always a pleasure. Well the day is almost gone but the conversation continues online youll find us on twitter either at the w. News or you can follow me at brant off t. V. Dont forget to use the hash tag today and remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see you the never bought. Into the conflict zone with Tim Sebastian jemmys farai go position. Takes its place to live you and 6 founded populist groups the european columnists my guest is greek is faster expose. The column a distraction because you know except that weve got to close out. Some of its highly controversial rest of the conflict so few. Minutes on g. W. For. Earths book home to lose of species. A home worth significant. Blow him those are big changes and most start with small steps but global ideas tell stories of could induce people and innovative projects around the world blames the countrys oil rich to scrimmage solutions and resource to ship. A crude interactive content to choose the next generation of doesnt want to talk to touch. Her rooms and always channels available to inspire people to take action and more determined to build something here for the next generation of global ideas the environment series of global 3000. 00 on t. W. And online. Where the real trouble it resides. I come from there lots of people in fact more than a 1000000000 users was not just democracy maybe thats one reason im passionate about people and aspirations and they can send. The money to finishing the book is Fried Chicken but after the 4th of the sun in 1 am member thinking at the time if the bubble in gold Going Forward anything can happen if people come together and unite for a call. But i do the news that often confronted difficult situations more conflicts being discussed out i see despite my job to enfranchise he does on policies and Development Just put the spotlight on issues that matter most to security oppression nationalizations. A notch has been achieved so much more needs to be john and i think people have to be at the heart of solutions. Shes on. This is. Tensions between the u. S. And iran are rising and this time britain is involved an oil tanker loaded with iranian crude is seized gibraltar in Southern Spain its suspected of violating European Union sanctions by delivering the oil trying to deliver the oil to syria United States requested the seizure also coming up tonight u. S. President gets his 4th of july parade and declares that the show will go