tv News Al Jazeera November 23, 2015 8:00pm-9:01pm EST
show on anyway. >> reporter: just the world empire is provacative and loaded, but by looking at it through artists the subject is less controversial, and encourages visitors to reconsider what the concept means to them. and that is all of our time. i'm tony harris. thank for watching. john siegenthaler is back with today's news right now. >> tony thanks very much. we begin with a new travel alert for all americans, from the state department saying that isil, al-qaeda, boko haram and other groups will continue to plan attacks around the world. the advisory tells u.s. citizens to remain vigilant. it comes as the french president is pushing for a new coalition in the fight against isil. >> reporter: in positioned and operational, the charles de gaulle aircraft area your, war planes takes off, bombs loaded.
a french defense ministry spokesman said the first attacks were in iraq. the actions coincides with president hollande's visit with david cameron. the two men were at the theater, the dismal seen of mass killing at a rock concert, 90 people died. each paid homage to the total of 130 dead by laying a single rose. cameron is promising more than support. he hopes to get parliamentary approval for air strikes against isil in syria. >> later this week i will set out in parliament our comprehensive strategy for tackling isil. i firmly support the action president hollande has taken to strike isil in syria and it's mying firm conviction that britain should do so too. >> translator: we're convinced
we must continue to strike isil in syria. we will intensify our strikes. we will choose the strikes that will cause the most damage to this terrorist army, and our aircraft carry your have been mandated to strike and strike hard against isil. >> reporter: the meeting and gesture here starts a difficult week for the french president. in fact dip atticly it could be the hardest of his presidency, trying to get support for what he calls the war against isil in syria. but france can't go it alone. on tuesday, hollande will meet with barack obama in washington. they will review the military options against isil and talk of russia involvement. the u.s. president and his russian counterpart, vladimir putin appeared to have broken some of the ice between them at the g-20 meeting in turkey earlier this month. there will be efforts for a grand military coalition to
include russia and hollande plans to head to moscow later in the week. hollande will also meet with angela merkel. he'll no doubt consult her on the prospect of putin being on board. but the russian president who is heavily committed to supporting syria's president with his own air strikes, is going to want concessions. he is likely to demand the lifting of sanctions for his action in crimea and eastern ukraine, and that may be too high of price to pay. for now france is supporting its president's actions with high approval ratings, but no one could be sure when the suffering will end. back at the theater where the stage doors remain closed where so many young people died ten days ago, there is still a sense of disbelief. with the war planes returning, came the completion of the first strike back from the charles dee
gal. >> jeff flightfoot is a senior fellow at the atlantic council and he is in washington tonight. jeff, welcome. does france have the military capability to eradicate isil? >> that's an imby house goal for france, and i think that france understands that it alone does not have the military capability to eradicate isil on its own. and that's why you are seeing president hollande visiting with prime minister cameron, coming to washington tomorrow, berlin, and then moscow. he is trying to build what he calls a unique coalition. i will say that france has sent its aircraft carrier to the eastern mediterranean which is triple france's combat capability, it is significantly increasing its military fire power in the region. >> we have heard that bombing won't eradicate isil either.
so don't they all have to put boots on the ground? >> well, i think the french whether not ask for boots on the ground here. but to your point, you are correct, bombing isn't going to solve this problem. the french, the united states, really everybody understands it is achieving some sort of political outcome. the french and the united states think that bashar al-assad is part of the problem. the russians still seem willing to stand by president assad. i think the key question that hollande has to try to resolve, is can he maybe split the russians in some way from the iranians and -- and try to get -- build the course or the parameters of a political outcome that ushers assad from power in a way that the russians can protect their own interests. >> how has president hollande political and world view changed since these attacks on france
especially on syria. >> i don't think that president hollande has really changed france's policy towards syria as it regards the politics. france had had the posture before that neither assad nor isis could have a future in syria, and it didn't want to choose. france was not bombing isis prior to september of this year, because it was worried that doing so might strengthen assad. in his speech sunday he made it clear that isis was the primary enemy, but that assad still has no place in syria. >> jeff lightfoot thank you very much. >> thank you. for the third straight day, brussels on lockdown. officials say the belgium capitol will remain on the highest level of alert until monday. it says it is a serious and imnext threat of attack.
and across belgium more arrests. neave barker reports. >> reporter: another late night security briefing. after three days on high alert a decision to keep the capitol's emergency status at the maximum level for at least another week, with some facilities returning to normal by wednesday. >> we want to do everything we can to return as quickly as possible to normal life. schools will be reopened as of wednesday, with additional security measures, and the metro would be opened also after wednesday. the opening of the metro may be progressive. but everything will be done to open it as extensively as possible. >> reporter: the level four means that an attack is being viewed as imminent. in the rest of the country, it's level 3 meaning an attack is
probable. the question is how long can people live like this? [ sirens blaring ] >> reporter: the security measures have seen the underground metro system closed for a third day, and schools shut across the capitol. the main stations as people begin returning to work. staff try to direct people towards alternative routes. the knock oneffect of the security clamp down as been enormous. >> they say the buses drive normally, but i just asked and apparently they drive normally, but a lot of drivers didn't come to work out of -- because they are scared. >> i go to -- to work in hospital. but the metro -- no, no metro. so i take tram, and tram and tram and tram, so i could get here to -- to go to hospital for -- for work. >> reporter: in the last two
days police have mounted a series of raids in brussels. search and arrest operations were also mounted in two other cities. dozens were detained, several remain in custody for questioning. police say one person is being charged with terror-related offenses linked directly to the paris-related attacks. but still little progress in the manhunt for this man. police believe when he escaped after the attacks he may have been still wearing an explosive vest. the european union i offices, nonessential meetings have been canceled. the u.s. and canadian embassies are among those that have closed console late services. the government has promised to open schools and universities as soon as possible, but with the heavy armed presence set to continue, it could be much longer before normality returns. neave barker, al jazeera, brussels. >> now to germany.
an anti islam group there is using paris attacks as a rallying cry against the refugees policy. the group has seen its popularity rise along with the surge in refugees in germany. carl penhall attended the weekly rally today in dresden. >> reporter: they have come in their thousands, self-described german patriots. they are protesting against the hundreds of thousands of refugees flooding into germany, especially muslims. our chancellor angela merkel is the most dangerous woman in europe. she incited this flood of refugees. she doesn't want to restore any control, she says. this is one of the senior organizers of a grassroots movement called european operate
reats against the islamization of the west. this night it's bitterly cold, but it's a big crowd. the paris terror attacks seem to be fuelling fears. of course there are islamists hidden among the refugees. there's no more comfortable way of coming into the country. this mollsy is irresponsible, she says. supporters share her worries. i heard a police chief saying we cannot discover who these people are, and even though that come will fly under the radar for years and years and then take action, by then it will be too late he says. many here expressed deep distrust of what they call the lying media, complaining they have been unfairly painted as right-wing extremists, even neo-nazis. it's very clear the people come
from different and varied walks of life. some say they fear the new arrivals could threaten their jobs. others say perhaps german culture could be undermined. maybe we can deal with foreign religion or foreign culture, but we can't deal with islam or crime. the refugees will damage the economy too, he says. some demonstrators are calling for tighter border controls, hard liners want to ex-pell refugees all together. outside dresden it may have far few ur supporters, but similar ideas with resinating loudly throughout europe. democrat seth moletin joins us. welcome. you have criticized the administration for not having a long-term strategy to defeat
isil, but with president hollande's visit this week to push for russia, u.s. coordination, do you get the sense that president obama might change his strategy? >> i think we're moving in the right direction, and one of the most encouraging signs is the initiative from secretary kerry. i think we have a decent military strategy, but it's short-term. it's about dropping bombs and training opposition fighters to defeat isis on the ground. we have to have a longer-term political vision, we have to have something to fill the vacuum that has aloud isis to expand in the first place. until we have that, it's not clear we can even tell our troops exactly what to do. >> cbs news poll shows 66% of americans think president obama has no clear plan for defeating isil, and the majority of americans now show support for ground troops.
you served four tours of duty in iraq. do you agree? >> i certainly agree with the concern about not having a clear plan. but i don't think the first solution is just to send in ground troops. what we need to have a is clear overarching strategy, and then we can be clear about what the military requirements are to fulfill that strategy. there are a lot of isil thugs that need to be killed. and at some point that may require ground troops. but what i don't want to do is send troops into harm's way without a clear mission, clear plan to win, and without a clear man to ensure that the end result will be taken care of. this was the big mistake we made in the invasion of iraq. we had expert plans for the invasion, and we did it expeditiously, but then we didn't have a plan to maintain the peace. >> you wrote today that isil wants to murder more americans and they want to attack us here at home.
the attacks in paris should have dispelled any notion to the contrary. some members of congress are pushing for a declaration of war. do you agree with that? >> i believe we should have a declaration of war, and we have to have that debate. it's congress's role to decide whether or not we go to war, whether or not we put young americans into arm's way, and today we're still operating under the authorization of use of military force that happened right after 9/11. and putting 50 special forces troops into syria in the midst of a civil war is a far cry from going into afghanistan to take out the terrorist camps that were the base of the attacks on '9/11. >> the u.s. government has issued a worldwide travel alert for americans. what does this mean? how should americans react to this? >> we all have to be vigilant. unfortunately we live in a world where terror can strike anywhere. and terrorists clearly want to
kill peace-loving, law-abiding citizens everywhere in the globe. so we do have to be careful. but at the end of the day, isis and other terrorist organizations win if they get us to change our values, and change our way of life. >> let me talk about refugees for a moment, because some of the polls suggest that a majority of americans don't want refugees, don't want to accept refugees. you have been an outspoken advocate for welcoming them. how should this country treat refugees? >> we need to treat refugees the way americans have always treated refugees. we have always been a beacon of hope for the oppressed across the globe, and that cannot change. if we change that bedrock principle of who we are as americans, that's when isis wins. i am confident that the process we have in place today is as strong as it can be. it takes 18 to 24 months to go through the screening necessary
to come here as a refugees, and you cannot even set foot on american soil until that screening process is complete. >> congressman it's good to see you. thank you for joining us tonight. >> thank you. hopefully it was helpful. coming up, chicago on edge, the city awaits the imnext release of dash cam video showing a white police officer shooting an unarmed black teenager. and i watched in jersey city, new jersey where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. >> tonight a surprising look at hiss supporters and why they stand by him. >> reporter: plus saving a species, armed and always on guard to protect the last northern white rhino in the wild. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,
and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to
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chicago is bracing for the release of police dash cam video. a black teenager shot 16 times by a white police officer. according to several local reports that officer could be charged as soon as tomorrow. andy is in chicago tonight with more on the story. andy? >> reporter: john, we did start hearing rumblings late this afternoon that that officer could be charged with murder as early as tomorrow in advance of the release of the video, which has to happen by wednesday afternoon. a video everyone describes as graphic, disturbing and violent. the shooting happened on october 20th, 2014. police say the 17-year-old has pcp in his system and was carrying a 4-inch knife, slashing tires along the road,
including the tires of an officer's car. six officers eventually cornered him, one shot him 16 times. >> an important distinction is that the video does not depict what my client was seeing at the time. it is not a video from the eyes of my client. >> reporter: many in the city's black come community don't buy the argument. >> apparently the guy was no threat to the officer, because he was like 20 feet away and walking away from the officer. >> the teenager's family is not talking to the media. but their attorney says they don't want the video to be released. community organizers say they realize the release will like
likely -- tensions in the city. >> i don't think nobody is going to take up arms or anything like that. >> reporter: a judge ordered the release of the video only after a dogged-fight between the city and an independent journalist who demanded it be made public. he says he doesn't think the fear of violence is a reason to hold back the video. >> in many other places it has been shown if you change the culture of policing in an area, the violence between citizens goes down. >> reporter: and this person says ultimately what t protesters want is the firing of the police superintendent. they say he doesn't done enough. >> the guy needs to be put on the fastest bus leaving chicago. >> reporter: john the chicago city council has seen the video, and when they did, they paid the family $5 million before the
family filed a lawsuit. they new right away that that video was big trouble. now to new orleans. police say a shootout at a playground was gang related. most of the 17 people injured were under the age of 21, including a 10 year old. three people in critical condition, one may never walk again. the mayor called the violence brazen, akin to domestic terrorism. also in new orleans police arrested a suspect in the shooting of a tulane medical student. the 25 year old will be charged with attempted first degree murder, kidnapping and armed robbery. police say he shot the student in the stomach after gold came to the rescue of a woman kaine was dragging down the street at gun point. he tried to shoot gold in the head but the gun jammed. coming up, donald trump's appeal. why supporters stick with him.
plus mega merger, details inside the world's largest pharmaceutical takeover. aimed at slashing the company's u.s. tax bills. .
hi, everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. trump and truth, false claims, repeated and retweeted. >> as that building was coming down, thousands of people were cheering. >> why he gets away with it.
and why his luck could soon run out. cashing out, big pharma's $160 billion merger. >> declaring they are based someplace else just to avoid paying their fair share. how it could cost the u.s. government big time. plus desert bloom, fighting a building boom in southern california. >> there's not enough water for tomorrow. there might be enough for today. >> where water is already hard to come by. republican presidential candidate, donald trump is known for speaking his mind. he doesn't always speak the truth. he has made several claims recently about the 9/11 attacks. and the white house plan for syrian refugees that have raised eyebrows. now his rivals are starting to use his own words against him. >> get him the hell out of here. >> reporter: it was another weekend of controversy for donald trump.
on saturday a black lives matter activist interrupted a trump rally, security officers appeared to punch and kick the protester, a response trump defended. >> maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing. >> reporter: trump always generated headlines by claiming on 9/11 after the attacks on the twin towers, he saw frightening reaction from muslims nearby. >> reporter: i watched in jersey any, new jersey where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. >> reporter: but there is no evidence such celebrations, if any occurred at all were broadcast on tv. still on sunday, trump doubled down. >> did you misspeak -- >> i saw it. >> reporter: provocative and questionable statements have long been a hallmark of trump's campaign. critics and rivals have repeatedly said trump is stoking
racial tensions. jeb bush said: but it's not just muslims or immigrants who are trump's targets. he recently hammered neurosurgeon and republican rival ben carson. >> he said he has pathological disease. he actually said pathological temper and then designed it as disease. so he said he has pathological disease. >> reporter: and by pathological, trump added this. >> if you have a child molester, a sick puppy, you are a child molester, there is no cure for that. >> trump speaks the way regular people speak. he doesn't speak in terms of a neurosurgeon or in terms of a governor or a long-time senator. my friend from oklahoma, he just lets it fly, and that's the way most people talk when they are comfortable in talking with their pals. >> reporter: republican strategists say trump's abrasiveness and misleading
claims are getting a pass right now for other reasons as well. a recent poll suggested that 75% of republicans believe most people in politics cannot be trusted. >> people absolutely believe that politicians overstate, so he is not any different from any other politician, i think in most people's view. he just says it in a different way. >> even a new of his own supporters will acknowledge some of his claims are absurd. >> we have very, very stupid people running our country. >> reporter: as it stands trump's republican rivals are now beginning to ratchet up attack ads aimed at trump. a super pac supporting john kasich released this. analysts say it's only matter of time before the airwaves are
filled with political ads that turn trump's own rhetoric against him. >> how stupid are the people of iowa? how stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap. amber phillips is a writer for the "washington post" political column, the fix. in your column you say four theories why donald trump's many falsehoods aren't hurting him. you call them falsehoods, right? not lies. >> yeah, i think who are we to judge truth and law, but we can determine fact and something that is not a fact, and what we have seen here at the "washington post" is donald trump is the candidate in the 2016 race with the most things rated as not facts. the comments he says are not only -- you know, not factual
but they are incredibly wrong. >> we have one of them. >> the people who were cheering as the world trade center came down. i know it may not be politically correct for you to talk b about it, but they were cheering as those buildings came down. it was well covered at the time. >> you say people simply believe him or want to believe him whether it's right or not. >> yeah, he said it himself. hey, this isn't politically correct, but here is what i'm going to say to you that no one else will. and the reason i think that there are supporters who want to believe him when he says something like that, which is not true, is because conservative republicans really distrust the government in particular, more than any other americans. we have a september "washington
post" abc news poll that found 75% of republicans said, hey, most politicians are not truth worthy. donald trump is coming in and saying i don't like those politicians either so let me tell you how it is, no matter how politically uncorrect it is. >> but more than politically uncorrect, you say people don't care if he is not accurate. why? >> sure. this is another theory. donald trump is the anti-establishment candidate. he is leading in the polls for lots of different reasons. i think that people might be willing to brush off the fact that he has, perhaps in their mind a fib or two or three for the fact that, you know, what i hear from supporters he can't be bought, because he makes all of his own money. in that supporting him would send a message to that hated washington establishment. there's lots of different reasons to support trump and i think these supporters might be thinking, hey, no candidate is
perfect. >> who are the supporters you are talking about? >> their demographics actually range across the spectrum, but for the most part they are conservative, tea party republicans, white evangelicals. the "washington post" report out earlier this week showed that donald trump actually is leading in demographicing among g.o.p. voters on just about every spectrum, that includes white men, white women, college educated people, non-college educated voters, so he is doing pretty well overall. >> let me play another sound bite where he talks about political incorrectness. >> i want surveillance of these people. i want surveillance if we have to -- and i don't care -- i want -- are you ready for this, folks -- oh, they are going to make it such a big deal. he said something so politically incorrect. that's why we're going to hell, because we're so politically incorrect. >> and you say it's trump's word
against the media. it sounded like maybe he was talking about the media in that bite sdmfl >> yeah, yeah. that is great line for him. big cheers every time he says something like that. and i think the reason is according to a pew purvey out today, 65% of americans say the national news media has a bad effect on our country, a negative effect. donald trump plays that up expertly. almost better than any other candidate, and that's what he is doing right there. >> amber phillips it's good to see you. interesting article from the "washington post." thanks very much. >> thank you. now to one of the biggest corporate mergers in history. and questions tonight about companies avoiding u.s. taxes. pfizer and allergen are combining in a deal valued at $160 billion. the way the deal is structured will drastically reduce the company's tax burden. >> it's the biggest deal of its
kind, worth $160 billion. >> we need to say what life are we touching today and making better? >> reporter: pfizer is taking over allergen. >> from allergen a company of 60 years of eye care. but it is technically buying the bigger company and that allows it to be headquartered in dublin, saving millions of dollars in corporate tax. >> it's another way of saying it is going to pay a lower tax rate in ireland than in the united states, which will allow it to report higher quarterly earnings going forward. so this is really a deal about optimizing or minimizing corporate tax rates from pfizer's perspective. >> u.s. president barack obama has in the past promised to close the loophole. he called it unpatriotic. >> a small but growing group of big corporations are fleeing the country to get out of paying attackses. they are keeping most of their
businesses inside of the united states, but they are basically revoking their citizenship just to avoid paying their fair share. >> reporter: in ireland it will be just 15% tax. pfizer's ceo says they lose out from being based in the u.s. even mow that's where most of their business comes from. >> i have foreign companies who have tax rates of 15%, who can put -- invest 2 to 3 billion more in research than we can, and we're fighting with one hand tied behind our back. >> reporter: pfizer says it expected to complete the deal in the second half of next year, and it could generate $2 billion in savings in the first three years. it will create the world's biggest drug company in terms of sales. but it still needs approval by regulators before it can be approved by shareholders.
>> frank clemente is a member of americans for tax fairness. why do you stand on this deal? >> very upset about it. very opposed it to. and are demanding that congress take action. they can stop this deal dead in its tracks before it leaves for the -- for the congressional session ends in december. >> plenty of people complaining about the fact that some corporations are leaving this country to get a better tax deal. in your opinion, whose fault is it? the united states government for raising taxes too high or these corporations for trying to get away from the tax? >> well, i'd say it's a combination of the two. i mean, first of all, the loop holes exist. and they exist because congress lets them continue to exist, but they also exist because corporations have a lot of power in this town. they have a lot of lobbyists,
and they are able to rig the system in their favor. the loopholes have not been closed. companies are able to avoid paying taxes on their off-shore profits for as long as they like, as long as they don't bring them back here to the united states. as soon as they bring them back they have are to pay taxes on them in. that's the reason so much money is stashed offshore. they could get rid of that loophole right away. in that allows them to avoid taxes on that income. they would have to pay up immediately, or pay up over five years, you know, make it gradual, but that would take away all of the incentive that exists right now for them to have the profits offshore. >> since this is $160 billion deal, the bigger ever, what is the significance of it? what -- what does it say about lobbying on capitol hill? >> it says that we have got a government that's, you know, not working for average consumers. that's why people are so unhappy
with washington these days, with washington politicians. that they don't feel that washington is getting things done for them. but it is doing the bidding and the i business of big corporations and wealthy folks. and congress could begin to start to correct the public's conception of it, if it were to close these loopholes. >> do you get the sense that the public is beginning to pay attention to this now or not? >> i think they will, because pfizer is so big. now it's not -- it's not like burger king or walgreens which is on every corner. so they won't pay as much at tenning -- attention to it, and we're coming up on the holiday season, so it's not a time for people to be paying attention to these sorts of things. congress is out of session. people aren't around to complain as much. this is a company that gets a billion dollars a year in federal government contracts because it sells drugs to
medicare, medicaid, and other programs. people ought to be really unhappy that their tax dollars is now going to a company that is deserting america, going to ireland to pay a fraction of the taxes it pays here. and nothing is really changing. the headquarters, facilities, jobs, employees are all going to remain here, it's just that they will be avoiding a lot more taxes in the future. >> frank it's good to have you on the program. thanks very much. >> thank you, john. developers in california are k looking to create a new town, proposing thousands of new homes in riverside county. just one of several new developments in many one of the driest parts of the state that is already struggling to meet water-reduction demands. >> reporter: sand, shrubs, dry and desolate.
some people this as inhospitalable, others see it as an opportunity to build big. 8500 new homes, schools, restaurants, and retail. >> right now we're standing on the northern boundary of the proposed paradise valley development, which is in essence a new city. >> reporter: it's one of six proposed or approved new developments in if one of the fastest-growing regions in california. 15 miles from the site of paradise valley, you'll find the future development called la-entrada. it's really a city within a city. developers promise 78 homes, parks, schools churches, even it's own fire department. picture a place like this, palm
springs, only a few miles up the interstate. once a barron brown desert too. >> honestly, we live in a desert. we don't live in florida. >> reporter: the development boom is unsettling for long-time reside resident john. >> we have some serious work to do before we talk about new developments, we need to do a better job of just handling what we have. >> reporter: do you think there is enough water in the wally to support all of the proposed development? >> there is not enough water for tomorrow. there might be enough for today, but there is not enough for tomorrow. >> reporter: the valley, one of the driest places in north america gets its water from three maim sources, a large underground aquifer, imported water, and the colorado river. >> if you look around there isn't any water. >> reporter: how do you strike the balance between needing the
growth and needing the new development and this diminishing resource called water? >> there are plenty of opportunities for growth and development within the existing urban areas of the valley. more than enough for the next 50 years, and to build a new city out here is just something that is just not really feasible. >> reporter: al jazeera wanted to speak with officials from the water district, but they refused our request for an on-camera interview. we do know the district was recently fined for missing its water-reduction mandate by 9%. >> they haven't focused on conservation. they haven't focused really on sustainability. >> reporter: this is another approved master planned community with more than 16,000 new homes. the development will be built on the northwest shore of the salten sea.
juan perez is head of land management. >> the county works hard to be responsible in how we handle development and infrastructure. >> reporter: do you think it's responsible in a time of drought to approve massive new developments. >> again, we are working with our water districts who are indicating that over the period of time that there will be water that can be provided to the site. >> reporter: how do you trust in the water district to say there's enough water for these developments when they are missing their mandatory restrictions now? >> well, we do rely on them. and that is -- actually it's part -- >> reporter: can you trust them though? >> we certainly have a strong relationship with the water district, and they have shown us over time that -- that there -- they are very cognizant of their supplies, and it's important to keep many mind too, that these projects that we're talking about, in some cases may build out over many, many decades. >> we need to live within the
habitat. we need to recognize what the happen at the is -- habitat what it is. >> reporter: transforming the desert into lush thirsty cities is part of the building of the area. jennifer london, al jazeera. coming up next on the broadcast, they fought for their country, now they are fighting posttraumatic stress disorder. i'll talk to the director of a documentary on what needs to be done to help america's veterans. ♪
posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide rates are very high, a new documentary takes a look at a system that is broken and needs to be fixed. >> i was going insane inside of my own head. the turbulence that i had with my morals being violated the way they were. i couldn't make sense that i wasn't a murderer. it would actually make me upset when people would come up to me and say thank you for your service. welcome home. i would get angry, and i would be like, what do you know? what do you know about being home? and -- and coming back from a
war? >> tom donohue is the direct of "thank you for your service," dr. mark russell is a clinical psychologist and retired officer. why isn't the u.s. government doing enough for soldiers with mental illness? >> well, i think there has been a cycle of mental health crises, war after war after war, at least since world war i. part of the problem i learned is that there is no behavior health corps. there's no single corps responsible for mental health crises. >> what are soldiers struggling with? >> they are struggling with all different kinds of psychic trauma. i tell the story of several vets. one struggles from almost repeattive stre stress injury.
he has gone back and forth many times. and there is another one that accidentally killed an innocent family in iraq and deals with the consequences of that violation of his moral code. and another one who saw his friends burned alive. and he suffers from survivor's guilt. >> commander i'm surprised to learn that many mental health professionals aren't really prepared to handle these sorts of cases. why? >> that's a very good question. we have never investigated why. i surveyed 133 military mental health professionals like me in uniform, and we found that 90% had not been trained in how to deliver the best treatments that had been identified as early back as 2004. the reason why is each generation we neglect these well-documented lessons learned.
this is the blue print on how we should be handling mental health nflt >> tom this is not a new problem. franklin roosevelt set up a program to help those with mental health disorders. what happened to those programs? >> they were pilot programs, and after the president died the programs went away. 22 veterans commit suicide a day, and many are vets approaching 60 years old. >> more veterans have killed themselves by suicide than they have been killed in action in all previous wars since world war ii. and, again, it has to do just with the state of chronic neglect. >> commander you spoke out about this, and you didn't necessarily a great response from the military. why? >> well, one the military doesn't look upon favorably those that speak out. >> why not?
it's hard to understand that. >> that's a very good point, because our core values of integrity and courage would ties to speak out for the benefit of others. but in this case it was viewed as an embarrassment to the military that they were not prepared to deal with mental health needs and here is a commander telling the commander he wasn't have any clothes on. >> is this partly a macho thing. step up and have a stiff upper lip. >> that's part of it. there's a great fear in the military by treating mental health issues, it will result in what we call evacuation syndromes, where we erode the will to fight. >> but i think we enter the 21st century and get past that
stigma. >> so what needs to be done. >> we're creating a non-profit where you can sign up, and if you are outraged after watching the film, you can call your local representative and he can try to make change. >> the film is called "thank you for your service." and you both have done a service to this country by focusing on this issue and doing this documentary. >> thank you. tonight ali velshi looks at tighter security measures that the u.s. is considering after the attacks in paris. ali. >> john, we're talking about america's visa waiver program. it allows travelers from europe and elsewhere to bypass the other wide rigorous screening process that applicants normally go through. the fear is europeans with ties to isil could use their pass ports, get into america, and plot new attacks. that's on target tonight, 9:00
eastern and pacific. >> thank you. coming up next, stopping the extinction of the northern white rhino, the length to protect the few that are still alived.
san diego zoo officials say they are devastated by the passing sunday of know la, annen
takered white rhino. her death leaves only three northern white rhinos left on earth. that's an extraordinary effort underway in kenya to ensure their survival. at the 90,000 acre of the conservancy in kenya, the last male northern white rhino is under protection 24 hours a day. armed and unarmed rangers try to provide a double level of security where the rhino can be safe but roam safely. they want the rhinos to enjoy a somewhat natural existence. poachers are chasing the ryan knows for their horns they will go for as much as $24,000 on the
black market. in an effort to eliminate the market value of sudan, conservationists have removed his horn. still poaching is a big threat to this male rhino, the last of his kind. right now the old conservancy is working towards artificial reproduction techniques that will allow the northern white rhino to continue. >> the chances of us getting a northern white calf on the ground before they die is pretty remote. the best we can hope for right now is the recovery of their genetics in the form of their eggs and sperm. and hopefully embryos. >> he encourages supporters to visit the white rhino conservancy. they even started a go-fund me page. that goes directly towards arming the protectors on the
ground. >> it is going to be the removal of the species from the planet for a period of time. and it's an indictment of what the human race is doing to planet earth. because it's not just happening to rhinos it is happening to all sorts of species. >> the fight is trending under the hashtag nolaforever. that's your broadcast. thank for watching. i'm john siegenthaler. ali is next. ♪ >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight. easy access, the immigration loophole. and secret messages, how mobile apps could be used to coordinate an attack.
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