0:00:02 > 0:00:03CHANTING: Yes, we can!
0:00:03 > 0:00:05You and I, we're going to change this country,
0:00:05 > 0:00:07and we will change the world!
0:00:11 > 0:00:14For millions, the election of Barack Obama
0:00:14 > 0:00:16marked a new era of hope.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19The President turned around with this great smile on his face
0:00:19 > 0:00:21and he said, "Of course I'm feeling lucky."
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Let's go get 'em. It's game time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28The young, energetic president
0:00:28 > 0:00:31was eager restore America's reputation in the rest of the world.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35We want to reset our relationship.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Let's do it together.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42My administration will seek engagement with Iran.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45We believe in dialogue.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49I am temperamentally optimistic
0:00:49 > 0:00:51and tend to take the long view.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Above all, Obama was determined
0:00:56 > 0:01:00to undo the damage done by George W Bush's wars.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Our combat mission in Iraq will end.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05In tonight's programme,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Obama and his inner circle tell how his ambitions were undone
0:01:09 > 0:01:11by the chaos of the Arab Spring.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15PROTESTORS CHANT
0:01:17 > 0:01:20As President, you have to deal with the unexpected.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24This is arguably the hardest policy problem that we've encountered.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28We were going to see a tumultuous period in the Middle East.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Six months into his presidency,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50the most powerful man in the world
0:01:50 > 0:01:53came to what was once the most powerful civilisation.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Barack Obama was in Egypt
0:02:03 > 0:02:06to launch a new relationship with the Arab world.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It's awe-inspiring.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12All right, I guess we gotta go back to work.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18My job is to communicate the fact
0:02:18 > 0:02:20that the United States has a stake
0:02:20 > 0:02:23in the wellbeing of the Muslim world.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25I have Muslim members of my family.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30I have lived in Muslim countries.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34Assalamu alaikum.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I know there has been controversy
0:02:45 > 0:02:49about the promotion of democracy in recent years,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56But I do have an unyielding belief
0:02:56 > 0:02:59that all people yearn for certain things.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03The ability to speak your mind
0:03:03 > 0:03:07and have a say in how you are governed.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10The freedom to live as you choose.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12These are not just American ideas,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14they are human rights,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and that is why we will support them everywhere.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20CHEERING
0:03:26 > 0:03:29In Cairo, the President underscored that,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32for long-term stability and growth
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and the success of the governments in the region,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39they had to be more open, more responsive,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42frankly, more respectful of the rights of their citizens.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Then came Arab Spring.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52The popular protests called the Arab Spring started in Tunisia,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54then moved to Egypt.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Hundreds of thousands took over Cairo's Tahrir Square,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00demanding the removal of President Hosni Mubarak.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21The huge crowds demanding the democracy Obama had called for
0:04:21 > 0:04:23presented him with a dilemma.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24Obama phoned Mubarak.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29The President told Mubarak that, as a friend and ally,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32we were trying to encourage him to reach out more to
0:04:32 > 0:04:35the other side, to the young people who were in the square,
0:04:35 > 0:04:43and to convey that he got at least their message of a need to change.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45President Mubarak said, "This will go away,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48"these are just agitators, they'll be home within a day or two,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50"there're just a few Muslim Brotherhood elements
0:04:50 > 0:04:54"that are a problem, but don't worry about it," essentially.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58The President talked it over with his advisers.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Mubarak's departure was going to happen and the question was,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06would it happen with us kicking and screaming
0:05:06 > 0:05:07or would it happen with us
0:05:07 > 0:05:10understanding that it was a natural evolution?
0:05:10 > 0:05:14And in my view, there was no option to support Mubarak at that time.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17That would have been...would have led to lots of death,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19lots of fighting in the streets.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22I actually live next door
0:05:22 > 0:05:25to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and, once he knew I was home,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32he asked to come over and talk with me
0:05:32 > 0:05:37and he told me that there was a strong move at the White House
0:05:37 > 0:05:40to tell Mubarak he had to get out.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I thought it was a crazy idea.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Obama went for the crazy idea.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52He decided to urge Mubarak to stand down
0:05:52 > 0:05:55and he had a discreet way to pass the message.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Vice President Omar Suleiman
0:05:57 > 0:06:01had been Mubarak's intelligence chief for decades.
0:06:01 > 0:06:07The real question was, how could we get the message across to
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Suleiman and to others
0:06:09 > 0:06:12that they were playing with fire here?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15What we thought made sense was for my deputy to have
0:06:15 > 0:06:19a set of talking points and tell Suleiman very clearly,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23if they do not provide for a transition that they were
0:06:23 > 0:06:26jeopardising the relationship with the United States.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Here is what we suggest.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Mubarak needs to announce that he's going to step down,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35and he needs to announce the creation
0:06:35 > 0:06:39of a transitional government that will rule Egypt
0:06:39 > 0:06:43until there can be new elections and a new government formed.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46TRANSLATION:
0:06:56 > 0:06:59So Suleiman reached back to me to say that he had talked to Mubarak
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and that Mubarak agreed to do what we had asked.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12The President joined his national security team in the situation room
0:07:12 > 0:07:15to watch Mubarak announce his resignation on television.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18After the opening remarks, which still gave us
0:07:18 > 0:07:22the impression that this was going to happen,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25suddenly, near the end of that speech, he said no.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34President Obama said, that's just not going to cut it.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Obama now had to decide whether to go public
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and call for Mubarak's resignation.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46There was clearly a distinction between Secretary Clinton
0:07:46 > 0:07:50and Secretary Gates, who were taking a more cautious approach
0:07:50 > 0:07:53and some of the younger people in the room who felt,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56this is a moment for the United States to issue a clarion call.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59I said, if we support Mubarak in this instance,
0:07:59 > 0:08:04it's going to be impossible to make the case
0:08:04 > 0:08:07that we're consistent in our support for democracy.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10We have been his closest ally for 30 years...
0:08:11 > 0:08:16..and the message, if you...if you just throw him under the bus,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19is a huge one throughout the entire region.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22You don't want to be caught on the wrong side of history, erm,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26you don't want the United States to be implicated in a violent crackdown
0:08:26 > 0:08:29against young people in Tahrir Square protesting for their rights.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34If I, in fact, had publicly stood by Mubarak
0:08:34 > 0:08:40and tanks had, you know, shot into the crowds in Tahrir Square
0:08:40 > 0:08:44similar to what happened in Tiananmen Square,
0:08:44 > 0:08:50it's very hard to see how that ends up resulting in a better outcome.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57The President decided to give Mubarak one last chance to go
0:08:57 > 0:08:59before he was pushed.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02As I sat there on the sofa,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04I thought, this is going to be very tough
0:09:04 > 0:09:09to expect Mubarak to do what many around the world were hoping
0:09:09 > 0:09:11he'd do in short order.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13And there was a tenseness in the room.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17The President said,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"I think, for the sake of your country, you need to step down.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23"You need to make clear that you're leaving office,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26"not at the end of your term, but you're going to do it now."
0:09:28 > 0:09:32President Mubarak was very defiant and he is not going anywhere
0:09:32 > 0:09:36and he basically told the President that he had a better handle
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and understanding of the Middle East than President Obama did.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Good evening, everybody. Now, it is not the role of any other country
0:09:47 > 0:09:52to determine Egypt's leaders, only the Egyptian people can do that.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58What is clear, and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak,
0:09:58 > 0:10:03is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06it must be peaceful and it must begin now.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12While we didn't have the agency to say, "This must happen, do it",
0:10:12 > 0:10:16we have a multibillion dollar assistance relationship with Egypt,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20we had very close relationships with the Egyptian military.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Egypt's generals had refused to choose between Mubarak
0:10:25 > 0:10:27and the protesters.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Obama's security advisers started making calls.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37What I tried to stress was that they were in the leadership
0:10:37 > 0:10:39of their country.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44That there was a bigger issue here, which was the future of Egypt
0:10:44 > 0:10:46and, if we were to avoid chaos,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49that they would have to step up to the plate.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55For the first time ever, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
0:10:55 > 0:10:58met without the President in the chair.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03It was past 11 o'clock when I called Field Marshall Tantawi
0:11:03 > 0:11:05and he was a little oblique with me.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10He said that the process of transition is underway,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14and the President will soon be leaving Cairo.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18And I said, "Well, does that mean he's stepping down?"
0:11:18 > 0:11:21And he said, it will all be resolved very shortly.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46We turned on Al Jazeera and, you know, Ben Rhodes
0:11:46 > 0:11:49and other people at the White House came over
0:11:49 > 0:11:51and we toasted that this was a good day.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Lot of bad days came later but that was a good day.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57THEY CHANT
0:12:05 > 0:12:08There are very few moments in our lives
0:12:08 > 0:12:12where we have the privilege to witness history taking place.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15This is one of those moments.
0:12:16 > 0:12:17This is one of those times.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23The people of Egypt have spoken. Their voices have been heard
0:12:23 > 0:12:26and Egypt will never be the same.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39This Arab Spring now swept across the region.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42THEY CHANT
0:12:43 > 0:12:47In neighbouring Libya, protesters rose up against a dictator
0:12:47 > 0:12:49who had ruled for more than 40 years.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52When Obama came out
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and he did not protect Hosni Mubarak,
0:12:55 > 0:12:56that was very inspiring.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02There is glimpses of hope coming out that nobody is going to
0:13:02 > 0:13:05protect those dictators from the people.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32The Libyan opposition begged for help.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Our backs were to the wall, you know.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42We had no other escape.
0:13:42 > 0:13:48The young people were slaughtered in the streets by the minute
0:13:48 > 0:13:50and we know that, for us,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52there is no other exit.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Either we win, or we die.
0:13:59 > 0:14:00All eyes turned to America.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06A few discreet phone calls had helped in Egypt.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Stopping Gaddafi would take force.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11We were still trying to wrap up Iraq,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14we were trying to wrap up Afghanistan
0:14:14 > 0:14:17and to now be confronted by a situation that would
0:14:17 > 0:14:21involve another war in the Middle East was really conflicting for him.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Obama had thought deeply about the use of force.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Two years earlier, to the amazement of the world,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34APPLAUSE
0:14:36 > 0:14:39The morning of our departure for Norway,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43he said that he'd basically stayed up all night rewriting
0:14:43 > 0:14:45the speech, which he almost never does.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47He edits things, he makes suggestions
0:14:47 > 0:14:50but he actually had sat down and written out
0:14:50 > 0:14:54in his own handwriting several pages to make it about, how do
0:14:54 > 0:14:59we square the necessity of war with the necessity of pursuing peace?
0:15:00 > 0:15:03As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Dr King's life work,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15I know there's nothing weak, nothing passive,
0:15:15 > 0:15:20nothing naive in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King...
0:15:22 > 0:15:28..but as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31I cannot be guided by their examples alone.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36as it was in the Balkans.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39America's commitment to global security will never waver,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43but in a world in which threats are more diffuse
0:15:43 > 0:15:47and missions more complex, America cannot act alone.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Now, two years later,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Obama's words were being tested by the violence in Libya.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Paris for
0:16:00 > 0:16:03an emergency summit hosted by President Sarkozy.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23The large gathering that President Sarkozy hosted
0:16:23 > 0:16:28was a critical meeting to make clear that we were all in this together
0:16:28 > 0:16:30and we were all moving forward.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36The moment that the Secretary walked in, Nicolas Sarkozy was
0:16:36 > 0:16:38already starting to launch into his case.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41I don't think they'd even sat down before
0:16:41 > 0:16:43he was laying out all of the reasons for why
0:16:43 > 0:16:46the international community had to act and had to act fast.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Before making a recommendation to the President,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Clinton wanted to know who might take over from Gaddafi.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18She was waiting in a very nice room,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20a meeting room, you know?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23And she was very cordial.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28I wanted to be able to assess what he thought was the way forward,
0:17:28 > 0:17:33to get a feel for the seriousness that the
0:17:33 > 0:17:38Transitional National Council would be a real alternative to Gaddafi.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44It was like an interrogation, but I knew that if I can get to her
0:17:44 > 0:17:48maybe we can win the support - a real heavy support
0:17:48 > 0:17:50for the no-fly zone.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54I did not want to give him false hope because there was still
0:17:54 > 0:17:58an internal debate going on within our own government.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01So I could not say yes and I could not say no.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Resolving that debate was urgent.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Gaddafi's forces were now just 90 miles from the rebels'
0:18:09 > 0:18:13stronghold, Benghazi - home to one million people.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16We knew that there was going to be a massacre.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19If something didn't happen soon, there was going to be
0:18:19 > 0:18:21a massacre in Benghazi
0:18:21 > 0:18:24and many hundreds, if not thousands, of people would be killed.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Obama asked his National Security Council
0:18:28 > 0:18:30whether he should agree to a no-fly zone.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I said, "How would we go before the world and explain why we're
0:18:35 > 0:18:37"not doing this and say,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39"'OK, there are all these other countries
0:18:39 > 0:18:42"'who are willing to step up and engage in a no-fly zone and try
0:18:42 > 0:18:44"'to protect civilians on the ground,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46"'but we're going to sit this one out'?"
0:18:46 > 0:18:49I turned to the President and said, "Can I just finish the two
0:18:49 > 0:18:53"wars that I'm already in before you go looking for a third one?"
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Hillary Clinton phoned into the meeting
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and raised a fundamental question.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02She said, "This isn't the United States doing this by itself,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05"the United States is part of an international coalition."
0:19:05 > 0:19:09But that if it was just planes buzzing around in the sky
0:19:09 > 0:19:13while tanks crushed towns and killed people below, that was
0:19:13 > 0:19:16not going to be a successful military operation.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19He went around the room and he asked, you know,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21"Does anybody think that a no-fly zone
0:19:21 > 0:19:22"is going to actually do what we need?"
0:19:22 > 0:19:24And nobody did.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27When Obama asked for other military options,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30his advisers had nothing to offer.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33The Secretary of Defense had been playing hardball.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I'd told Admiral Mullen and my staff
0:19:36 > 0:19:39that I didn't want any military options
0:19:39 > 0:19:41being sent to the White House staff,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44that if there were going to be military options presented,
0:19:44 > 0:19:49that the Chairman or I or the Vice-Chairman would do that
0:19:49 > 0:19:53directly with the President and the principals,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55that I wasn't going to allow
0:19:55 > 0:19:59these junior staffers to exercise their
0:19:59 > 0:20:02"military expertise" on our behalf.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The President immediately said,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07"Look, we're having the wrong meeting.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09"Let's get together later tonight where
0:20:09 > 0:20:13"there can be real options that will actually address this issue."
0:20:21 > 0:20:25As Obama drove off, the military put together a plan to allow the
0:20:25 > 0:20:29allies to strike Gaddafi's ground forces, as well as his planes.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36The Obamas went on a long-arranged visit to Latin America,
0:20:36 > 0:20:37starting in Brazil.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45As soon as we got to Brazil, what we heard is that Gaddafi's
0:20:45 > 0:20:46forces were still advancing
0:20:46 > 0:20:49and they were literally on the outskirts of Benghazi.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53And if they got into the city, it would be very hard
0:20:53 > 0:20:55from the air to stop them.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Here we were in a rather non-descript holding room,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03in an administrative office building in Brasilia,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07with the President giving the final OK to do a military action.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11It was a very bad feeling for all of us because these were the
0:21:11 > 0:21:15sort of things President Obama was intent on trying to avoid,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17but some things are unavoidable when
0:21:17 > 0:21:19you're the President of the United States.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28For the next three days, Obama had to juggle between his
0:21:28 > 0:21:32responsibilities as an appreciative guest and as commander in chief.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49We're not invading a country.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51We're not acting alone.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53We are acting under a mandate issued
0:21:53 > 0:21:56by the United Nations Security Council,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00in an unprecedented fashion and with unprecedented speed.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03We have a limited task, a focused task,
0:22:03 > 0:22:05and we've saved lives as a consequence.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13It would take another seven months before the allied campaign ended.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22Wow!
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Huh.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Unconfirmed, yeah.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Unconfirmed reports about Gaddafi being captured.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- Oh, wow.- Really?- Unconfirmed.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Yeah. We've had too many... We've had a bunch of those before.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41We've had him captured a couple of times.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45This time it was true.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Gaddafi was captured and shot with his own gun.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54CHEERING
0:22:54 > 0:22:56But the euphoria was short-lived.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58GUNSHOTS
0:23:00 > 0:23:04The opposition group Clinton had met in Paris was soon pushed aside
0:23:04 > 0:23:06and the country collapsed into anarchy.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12A year later, in Benghazi, Islamic militants burnt down
0:23:12 > 0:23:14the US consulate, killing four diplomats.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24I think we underestimated,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28our European partners underestimated the need to come in full force
0:23:28 > 0:23:31the day after Gaddafi is gone, when everybody is feeling good
0:23:31 > 0:23:33and everybody is holding up posters
0:23:33 > 0:23:35saying, "Thank you, America".
0:23:35 > 0:23:39At that moment, there has to be
0:23:39 > 0:23:42a much more aggressive effort
0:23:42 > 0:23:46to rebuild societies that didn't have any civic traditions.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47So that's a lesson that
0:23:47 > 0:23:49I now apply every time
0:23:49 > 0:23:51I ask the question,
0:23:51 > 0:23:52should we intervene militarily?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Do we have an answer the day after?
0:23:55 > 0:23:58FANFARE
0:24:06 > 0:24:11It was the war to unseat President Bashar al-Assad of Syria that
0:24:11 > 0:24:13would force Obama to keep asking that
0:24:13 > 0:24:15question for the rest of his presidency.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24The Arab Spring in Syria had turned into a civil war that pitted
0:24:24 > 0:24:28many rival opposition groups, both moderate and extremist,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30against the dictator.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Syria is arguably the hardest policy problem that we've encountered.
0:24:37 > 0:24:42And it's hard because of the complexity of the opposition
0:24:42 > 0:24:45and it's hard because of the nature of the Assad regime
0:24:45 > 0:24:47and its external backers.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49It's hard because of the neighbourhood.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51A year into the conflict,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55the CIA came to Obama with a plan to help moderate rebel groups in Syria.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01The argument was, if we are going to have a chance at establishing
0:25:01 > 0:25:05an effective opposition force then we simply have to be able to
0:25:05 > 0:25:09provide the training and the arms to be able to do that.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14Look, we provided arms to the Libyans -
0:25:14 > 0:25:18the opposition forces in Libya - and they became pretty effective
0:25:18 > 0:25:19as a result of that.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22I thought the same thing could be true in Syria.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25This idea that we could provide
0:25:25 > 0:25:27some light arms or
0:25:27 > 0:25:30even more sophisticated arms to what
0:25:30 > 0:25:32was essentially an opposition
0:25:32 > 0:25:35made up of former doctors, farmers,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37pharmacists and so forth
0:25:37 > 0:25:38and that they were going to be able
0:25:38 > 0:25:41to battle not only a well-armed
0:25:41 > 0:25:44state, but also a well-armed state
0:25:44 > 0:25:48backed by Russia, backed by Iran,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50a battled-hardened Hezbollah -
0:25:50 > 0:25:53that was never in the cards.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Before I take some questions...
0:25:55 > 0:25:58But the President did make one exception to his refusal to
0:25:58 > 0:26:01involve America in this war.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06A red line for us is... we start seeing a whole bunch of
0:26:06 > 0:26:08chemical weapons moving around or being utilised.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10That would change my calculus.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28A year after Obama's warning,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32this video shot in a Damascus hospital was posted on social media.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37The images from this massacre are sickening.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Men, women, children lying in rows, killed by poison gas.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46A father clutching his dead children, imploring them
0:26:46 > 0:26:48to get up and walk.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52It was vile, horrendous, you know, hard to watch.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53The President absolutely understood
0:26:53 > 0:26:57and knew that he needed to take action.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02We had to ensure that, first of all,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05these kinds of attacks couldn't be replicated,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and secondly that there would be a significant price
0:27:08 > 0:27:10for the Assad regime to pay.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14The President asked the military to prepare options and they
0:27:14 > 0:27:17quickly put something together that would consist of very significant
0:27:17 > 0:27:19US air strikes over a couple of days.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21It started to look like
0:27:21 > 0:27:25the best time for that was going to be that Friday, August 30th.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30America's allies were told that the strikes
0:27:30 > 0:27:32would begin in less than a week.
0:27:33 > 0:27:39Well, we thought we should be part of any military action on this
0:27:39 > 0:27:44but the United States was keen at the beginning to consider
0:27:44 > 0:27:49this quickly - to consider quite rapid military action -
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and that was part of the reason why we decided
0:27:52 > 0:27:54in Britain to recall Parliament.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59But Parliament hadn't forgotten Iraq.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02We're not going to be supporting a government motion which was
0:28:02 > 0:28:06briefed this morning as setting out an in-principle decision to
0:28:06 > 0:28:09take military action. That would be the wrong thing to do,
0:28:09 > 0:28:11and on that basis we will oppose the motion.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15The ayes to the right 272,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18the noes to the left 285.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19CHEERING
0:28:19 > 0:28:21So the noes have it, the noes have it.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27We had many tough moments in the time I was Foreign Secretary
0:28:27 > 0:28:29but I think that was the worst.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Prime Minister Cameron said, "You know, Barack, I support you
0:28:34 > 0:28:37"but I took this to my Parliament and they said no and I just
0:28:37 > 0:28:39"can't do it, and I feel terrible about that."
0:28:39 > 0:28:42After the President spoke to Cameron on the phone,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45some of us huddled in the Oval Office.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47It was a challenging moment for all of us.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51This would be the first time on a military operation
0:28:51 > 0:28:54the United States would be undertaking in quite some time,
0:28:54 > 0:28:58where the UK wouldn't be at our side.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01What we were doing here was potentially taking
0:29:01 > 0:29:05a military action without a clear United Nations
0:29:05 > 0:29:09mandate against a sovereign country.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13And this was a military action
0:29:13 > 0:29:18of choice, not of necessity, we weren't threatened at the time.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22There's no doubt that the failure of the vote
0:29:22 > 0:29:23in Parliament had some impact.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Then one of Obama's legal advisers spoke up.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31She reminded the President that, during the campaign,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35he had taken a pretty strong stand that presidents should have
0:29:35 > 0:29:37Congressional authority for military action.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41And I remember the President, almost in a sort of irritated way,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43saying, "I remember very well
0:29:43 > 0:29:45"what position I took during the campaign."
0:29:46 > 0:29:50The President started to have second thoughts.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55I was concerned that I might be contradicting my own, er...
0:29:55 > 0:29:56my own position.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58I'd actually written that,
0:29:58 > 0:30:02where American core interests are not immediately threatened,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05it is important for us to take pause
0:30:05 > 0:30:10and to try to mobilise public opinion as much as possible.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14That evening, he gathered his closest advisers
0:30:14 > 0:30:16to tell them he had changed his mind.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Shortly before coming into the Oval Office,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24I'd been given a heads up that that might be coming
0:30:24 > 0:30:28and, yes, I was surprised when I first heard it.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30By the time I got in the Oval Office,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34I was prepared to hear directly from him how he was thinking about it.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36You know, the expectation was
0:30:36 > 0:30:38we might take military action that weekend.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41He said to us that he knew that if we were going to act
0:30:41 > 0:30:45in this time window, we'd basically be doing it alone with France,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49without UN support, and he'd be very isolated.
0:30:50 > 0:30:58It was, in my mind at least, important for Congress,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02the representatives of the American people, to weigh in on this effort.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06I've made a decision that America should take action.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10But I also believe that we will be much more effective,
0:31:10 > 0:31:15we will be stronger, if we take action together as one nation.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20I certainly knew that it was going to be a problem for me politically.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26A couple of days later, Obama went to Russia,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30where President Putin was hosting a meeting of the G20.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37He was in no mood to talk to Putin, Assad's protector.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Well, the first day, they didn't meet -
0:31:40 > 0:31:43our people were sweating that. It's like, "Hey, man, when are you
0:31:43 > 0:31:46"going to actually talk to President Putin?"
0:31:46 > 0:31:49And the Russians, of course, were quite nervous about that.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53But, on the second day, they finally did find time, just one-on-one.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Putin had a proposal for Obama.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59President Putin said to President Obama,
0:31:59 > 0:32:00"Why don't we return to this issue
0:32:00 > 0:32:03"of whether or not we can co-operate to get the chemical weapons out,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05"without using a military force?"
0:32:05 > 0:32:07We'd been talking about this
0:32:07 > 0:32:11long before Presidents Putin and Obama met,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15but to have Putin agree to put his personal,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17you know, reputation on the line,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20that he will get Assad to go along, that was a big moment.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22And then the President had to decide -
0:32:22 > 0:32:27er, take that deal or go back to Washington and try to get the votes.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33But Obama was hearing increasingly pessimistic reports from Washington.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Members of Congress were explaining
0:32:36 > 0:32:38that their Constituents were telling them,
0:32:38 > 0:32:39"We want no part of this.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42"We don't want to get bogged down in another war."
0:32:42 > 0:32:45So that's churning in the back of his head, you know?
0:32:45 > 0:32:47And, as we're driving out to the airport,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49the President said to Susan Rice,
0:32:49 > 0:32:53"Let's figure out what we're going to do with this offer."
0:32:53 > 0:32:56I'd worked with the Russians enough in New York
0:32:56 > 0:32:58to know that it's not about trust,
0:32:58 > 0:33:02it's about whether we had a mutual interest that overlapped.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Before he landed, Obama had made up his mind.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Over the last few days, we've seen some encouraging signs.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15I have, therefore, asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote
0:33:15 > 0:33:19to authorise the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23I can't say that, when I made the decision,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27that I was absolutely certain that it was the right one.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29In retrospect, it's actually one of the decisions
0:33:29 > 0:33:34that I'm most proud of, in part because, er, it...
0:33:35 > 0:33:40..pushed against the conventional wisdom in this town
0:33:40 > 0:33:46and the ease with which military actions gain momentum,
0:33:46 > 0:33:50the greater difficulty in pulling back
0:33:50 > 0:33:55and ensuring that diplomacy is given a chance.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02The Russian compromise did get the chemical weapons out of Syria.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04But the civil war continued,
0:34:04 > 0:34:05killing hundreds of thousands
0:34:05 > 0:34:07and forcing millions to flee.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Obama continued to resist calls for the use of force.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20BABY CRIES
0:34:35 > 0:34:38The United States might have been in a position
0:34:38 > 0:34:45to take on the burden of trying to impose peace inside of Syria,
0:34:45 > 0:34:50if we hadn't had a previous decade that had drained our military,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53drained our treasury,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57drained the political capital required to mount
0:34:57 > 0:35:01what is essentially a largely humanitarian
0:35:01 > 0:35:03and long-term strategic effort.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14In the chaos, the most radical opposition group -
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Isis, or Isil - grew stronger.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27In the summer of 2014, Obama and his team were caught by surprise
0:35:27 > 0:35:30when Isis fighters crossed the border into Iraq
0:35:30 > 0:35:32and threatened its capital, Baghdad.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37The President sent his special envoy there.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43I had to say, "Mr President, I don't know what is happening,
0:35:43 > 0:35:44"particularly outside of Baghdad.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48"I don't know whether the Iraqi Security Forces will be able to hold
0:35:48 > 0:35:52"and I also don't know whether Isis is launching an attack on Baghdad,
0:35:52 > 0:35:53"it's very difficult to tell."
0:35:53 > 0:35:56And even our intelligence community was divided
0:35:56 > 0:35:57on exactly what was happening.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02There certainly was an overriding concern that Isis had grown rapidly
0:36:02 > 0:36:04and that, if they weren't checked in Iraq and Syria,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07they could potentially pose a threat to us here at home.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11It was not an outcome that we could tolerate,
0:36:11 > 0:36:15for Isil to continue to march with that speed and efficiency
0:36:15 > 0:36:19through other population centres of significance in Iraq.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23He said to everybody in the room,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25"We have to get this back in the box."
0:36:25 > 0:36:28He said, "This is really important,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31"and we have to get this back in the box."
0:36:32 > 0:36:37Obama ordered airstrikes against Isis in Iraq.
0:36:37 > 0:36:38Not an easy choice.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43We knew any decision we made could potentially have repercussions
0:36:43 > 0:36:47for those American citizens being held by this terrorist group.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Tragic news from overseas late today.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52It's about an American journalist named James Foley
0:36:52 > 0:36:55who went missing in Syria two years ago now...
0:36:55 > 0:36:56It's horrific.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59I mean, people can die in lots of different ways,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01but this way was the most horrific.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05And it haunts me, that he...
0:37:06 > 0:37:09How much pain he was in, and how...
0:37:09 > 0:37:13how cruel this method of execution is
0:37:13 > 0:37:15as opposed to so many others.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22We had all been very closely following James Foley's case
0:37:22 > 0:37:26and working hard to try to locate him
0:37:26 > 0:37:29and ultimately to secure his release.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31I'd met a number of times with his mother
0:37:31 > 0:37:37and other members of his family, so I had a sort of personal, um...
0:37:37 > 0:37:43interest in him, and in his family, and in the outcome.
0:37:43 > 0:37:48And then, of course, when we learned of his tragic killing,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50I mean, we were all heart-broken.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54And I felt it very personally because I could only imagine,
0:37:54 > 0:37:57having had that direct engagement with his family,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00how hard this must be for them.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06Two weeks later, another US journalist was beheaded.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13These murders of American hostages spurred Obama
0:38:13 > 0:38:15to set the strategy for fighting Isis
0:38:15 > 0:38:18that he has stuck with ever since.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, Isil.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24He built a coalition of 65 countries
0:38:24 > 0:38:26to carry out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria...
0:38:26 > 0:38:28EXPLOSION
0:38:28 > 0:38:30..trained and armed local forces...
0:38:31 > 0:38:34..but he kept his promise to not send the US Army
0:38:34 > 0:38:36back into the Middle East.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like Isil.
0:38:40 > 0:38:41EXPLOSIONS
0:38:41 > 0:38:44This is a core principle of my presidency -
0:38:44 > 0:38:48if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54There are probably some things that we might have done
0:38:54 > 0:38:56at the margins that might have made a difference,
0:38:56 > 0:39:01but we were going to see a tumultuous period in the Middle East
0:39:01 > 0:39:06and a breakdown of the order that had been established decades ago.
0:39:11 > 0:39:12In one instance,
0:39:12 > 0:39:16Obama seized the initiative to prevent a war before it started.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23He set out to tackle the threat of a nuclear Iran.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25In Obama's first five years in office,
0:39:25 > 0:39:30Iran was building centrifuges to enrich uranium at a furious pace.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35The world worried that Iran was close to building a nuclear bomb.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Israel's Prime Minister threatened a pre-emptive strike.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46The world tells Israel, "Wait, there is still time."
0:39:48 > 0:39:51And I say, "Wait for what?
0:39:53 > 0:39:54"Wait until when?"
0:39:56 > 0:39:59The biggest concern that we had was that
0:39:59 > 0:40:03if the Israelis felt the situation was growing out of its control,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06that they would seek to use military force themselves.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Obama asked his team to come up with an approach
0:40:10 > 0:40:15that would prevent America being dragged into a new Middle East war.
0:40:15 > 0:40:20We know that a military strike or a series of military strikes
0:40:20 > 0:40:24can set back Iran's nuclear programme for a period of time,
0:40:24 > 0:40:29but almost certainly will prompt Iran to rush towards a bomb.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33I said, "If you could negotiate over the idea
0:40:33 > 0:40:36"of having a peaceful nuclear programme,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40"you were far better off in terms of managing this problem
0:40:40 > 0:40:42"than getting on automatic pilot
0:40:42 > 0:40:44"and heading towards the potential of a war."
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Kerry's deputy pointed out that one key policy had to change.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54For a decade, the US had refused to consider any agreement
0:40:54 > 0:40:57that would allow Iran to enrich uranium.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03I argued that the most effective way to get a serious negotiation started
0:41:03 > 0:41:09was to make clear that we were willing to explore the possibility
0:41:09 > 0:41:11of a domestic enrichment programme.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14That was a question that really got at
0:41:14 > 0:41:16whether or not we wanted a deal,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19cos there was not going to be a deal with Iran
0:41:19 > 0:41:21that didn't involve some domestic enrichment capacity.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25What we know is that this has become a matter of pride
0:41:25 > 0:41:28and nationalism for Iran.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30So for us to say, "Let's try,"
0:41:30 > 0:41:33understanding that we're preserving all our options,
0:41:33 > 0:41:35that we're not naive...
0:41:35 > 0:41:40But if, in fact, we can resolve these issues diplomatically,
0:41:40 > 0:41:43we are more likely to be safe.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45In that situation, why wouldn't we test it?
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Obama sent two of his most capable diplomats
0:41:50 > 0:41:52to meet the Iranians in secret.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57The President took us aside and said he trusted us
0:41:57 > 0:42:02and we knew what the contours would be and, um...
0:42:02 > 0:42:04basically, don't screw it up!
0:42:06 > 0:42:10They travelled to Oman, where the Sultan had made available
0:42:10 > 0:42:12a private beach club close to the airport.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19The Iranians came to the table
0:42:19 > 0:42:22and essentially, from the first moment, said,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24"This is all a giant misunderstanding,
0:42:24 > 0:42:25"this is a peaceful programme,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29"we have only ever intended to have it be for civilian purposes."
0:42:29 > 0:42:34Iran has been accused of wrongdoing which we believe
0:42:34 > 0:42:36has no basis in reality.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38We made clear that there were
0:42:38 > 0:42:42reasons for mistrust, you know, on our side.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46That, you know, there was a long history here
0:42:46 > 0:42:48of Iran not meeting its obligations.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51How do you proceed in this conversation,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54where the folks on the other side of the table
0:42:54 > 0:42:58are simply asserting something you believe not to be true?
0:43:00 > 0:43:02The Americans demanded Iran open up
0:43:02 > 0:43:05all its nuclear facilities to inspection.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09But Iran had its price.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Obama had imposed sanctions that were crippling Iran's economy.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17We wanted to get rid of the sanctions.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21We consider these sanctions as unjust and illegal,
0:43:21 > 0:43:23based on international law.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27What they were looking for for just the first six months
0:43:27 > 0:43:30was somewhere in the order of tens of billions of dollars
0:43:30 > 0:43:32in sanctions relief, all in,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35when you added up everything that they were requesting.
0:43:35 > 0:43:40And I recall sort of looking at them
0:43:40 > 0:43:44and really not making an argument, so much as just saying,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47"You know, we could end the negotiation right here
0:43:47 > 0:43:49"because that's not even in the right sport,
0:43:49 > 0:43:51"let alone the right ballpark."
0:43:54 > 0:43:58The negotiators looked to the President to make a gesture
0:43:58 > 0:44:02that might ease decades of stand-off between the two countries.
0:44:04 > 0:44:05We began talking to the President
0:44:05 > 0:44:08about whether it would make sense for him
0:44:08 > 0:44:10to have a brief encounter with Rouhani
0:44:10 > 0:44:14simply to give the stamp of approval from the two presidents
0:44:14 > 0:44:16for this effort.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20President Hassan Rouhani was due to address the UN
0:44:20 > 0:44:21on the same day as Obama.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29When we got to New York,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32it was still uncertain as to whether this meeting would take place.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34Every time it was just about to be set,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38it felt like they were being pulled back from Tehran,
0:44:38 > 0:44:41and ultimately the meeting proved too difficult for them to do.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46I know that people were disappointed
0:44:46 > 0:44:48that a meeting had not taken place, on both sides.
0:44:48 > 0:44:54And we wanted to find an opportunity to...
0:44:54 > 0:44:56somehow redress that.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00The Iranians suggested a phone call.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05This should have been a moment where I was excited
0:45:05 > 0:45:08and thinking, "Gosh, I'm here to witness history."
0:45:08 > 0:45:10But, truth be told, I was just nervous
0:45:10 > 0:45:15because I had arranged this call to be taken on a cellphone
0:45:15 > 0:45:18and there was a moment where I had a bit of a panic
0:45:18 > 0:45:21about whether or not the cellphone was actually President Rouhani
0:45:21 > 0:45:23and not somebody else.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27As they were speaking, I got more comfortable.
0:45:27 > 0:45:32But I never could be quite sure that at the end of the call
0:45:32 > 0:45:35they wouldn't say, "Hi, I'm a radio DJ from Montreal."
0:45:35 > 0:45:38It was good when Rouhani tweeted on his official account
0:45:38 > 0:45:41because at that point I felt I was entirely in the clear.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45The President, when he hung up the phone, you know,
0:45:45 > 0:45:48he looked at us and he essentially said,
0:45:48 > 0:45:50"Well, that was pretty significant!"
0:45:53 > 0:45:55Good afternoon, everybody.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58Just now I spoke on the phone with President Rouhani
0:45:58 > 0:46:01of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10A month later, the two sides agreed a draft deal
0:46:10 > 0:46:12and brought it to Geneva.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14Here, the international group
0:46:14 > 0:46:17that had been trying for ten years to negotiate with Iran
0:46:17 > 0:46:19was about to meet.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24We had a text of something like four or five pages.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26The basic proposition
0:46:26 > 0:46:30was that they would not advance their nuclear programme
0:46:30 > 0:46:32in any of its existing pathways
0:46:32 > 0:46:34and we would not advance sanctions.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38But we were also looking to roll back their programme
0:46:38 > 0:46:43in return for some relatively modest relief of the sanctions.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49Wendy Sherman was the head of America's delegation
0:46:49 > 0:46:50to the international group.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Make sure we don't leak details of what's gone on
0:46:53 > 0:46:55because that's part of what people are looking at.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Is this serious, are they keeping it to themselves?
0:47:00 > 0:47:03She had to persuade the other five negotiating with Iran -
0:47:03 > 0:47:07Germany, Russia, China, Britain and France -
0:47:07 > 0:47:10to endorse the secret US-Iran draft.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16And she had to confess that she had been deceiving them.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20I said, "We've had this channel.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24"You all have diplomatic relations with Iran, you can talk to them.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26"We have no way to talk to them,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28"this was the only way we could do it."
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Et j'ai dit, "I'm sorry.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34"I can't live with this text. We just cannot accept it.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38"I don't have two formal objections,
0:47:38 > 0:47:42"I have five or six or seven substantial objections."
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Was it comfortable, was it a lot of fun?
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Not particularly.
0:47:48 > 0:47:49Was it difficult? Yes.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54If the draft text had upset the French,
0:47:54 > 0:47:56then how would the Israelis react?
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Well, it's a pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu
0:48:01 > 0:48:02back to the Oval Office.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07A month earlier, Obama had a chance to warn Israel's Prime Minister
0:48:07 > 0:48:10what sort of draft might be on the table.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12The President had to make a judgment call.
0:48:12 > 0:48:17Could he trust Netanyahu not to leak it
0:48:17 > 0:48:21when he knew that Netanyahu was opposed
0:48:21 > 0:48:25to the whole idea of a negotiated deal
0:48:25 > 0:48:27if the negotiated deal was going to leave
0:48:27 > 0:48:30some of Iran's nuclear programme intact.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Iran is committed to Israel's destruction.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36So, for Israel...
0:48:36 > 0:48:39'The President did not tell the Prime Minister'
0:48:39 > 0:48:42that the negotiations were going on
0:48:42 > 0:48:45and in fact were making considerable progress.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Thank you very much.
0:48:48 > 0:48:49Thank you.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52Now, a month later,
0:48:52 > 0:48:56the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the US
0:48:56 > 0:49:00were coming to Geneva to try to turn the secret draft into a deal.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06The very fact that four foreign ministers,
0:49:06 > 0:49:08including John Kerry,
0:49:08 > 0:49:11have decided to cancel whatever else they are doing
0:49:11 > 0:49:14and come here to Geneva to take part in this final day of talks
0:49:14 > 0:49:16I think shows you how important they are.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Secretary Kerry stopped off in Israel
0:49:21 > 0:49:23for what promised to be an awkward meeting.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29Netanyahu had agreed to meet Kerry at the airport
0:49:29 > 0:49:34because he was just stopping on the way to Geneva.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38The Secretary arrived, Netanyahu came into the room
0:49:38 > 0:49:43and said to Kerry, "Wait here,"
0:49:43 > 0:49:47and he went out and he briefed the press.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51I understand the Iranians are walking around
0:49:51 > 0:49:53very satisfied in Geneva,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55as well they should be,
0:49:55 > 0:49:57because they got everything and paid nothing.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00Everything they wanted. They wanted relief of sanctions
0:50:00 > 0:50:03after years of a gruelling sanctions regime.
0:50:03 > 0:50:04They got that.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08They're paying nothing because they're not reducing in any way
0:50:08 > 0:50:10their nuclear enrichment capability.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14So Iran got the deal of the century
0:50:14 > 0:50:18and the international community got a bad deal.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21This is a very bad deal.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24'And then he goes into this one-on-one meeting
0:50:24 > 0:50:26'with the Secretary of State.'
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Well, I explained to him
0:50:29 > 0:50:32that we were only in the beginning stages
0:50:32 > 0:50:34of trying to figure out what was possible,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36that whatever we would do
0:50:36 > 0:50:39would protect Israel, would protect the region.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Netanyahu was shouting so loudly that we could hear him
0:50:43 > 0:50:45through the walls
0:50:45 > 0:50:48and it went on for quite a long period of time.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54Kerry came out, got into his car
0:50:54 > 0:50:57to drive to the tarmac, to his plane,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00and he looked at me and he said,
0:51:00 > 0:51:02"That was really unpleasant."
0:51:09 > 0:51:12As soon as he got to Geneva, Kerry faced the French.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17France wanted to stop Iran from completing the plutonium reactor
0:51:17 > 0:51:20they were building near the city of Arak.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24When Syria tried to build a similar reactor
0:51:24 > 0:51:26Israel had bombed it.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:51:43 > 0:51:46Kerry agreed to toughen up the proposal.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50The new draft was taken to Iran's Foreign Minister,
0:51:50 > 0:51:51Javad Zarif.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59We were negotiating with the understanding
0:51:59 > 0:52:02that whatever we do in the back channel
0:52:02 > 0:52:06will converge into an agreement.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Zarif reacted, "Wait a minute, you're presenting me something
0:52:09 > 0:52:12"that's different from what we had worked on with you bilaterally."
0:52:12 > 0:52:16It wasn't OK for the United States to start renegotiating.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Zarif is a really good negotiator, a very accomplished diplomat.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23And if you are a really good negotiator
0:52:23 > 0:52:26and you're put in that position you really lay it on thick
0:52:26 > 0:52:27about how difficult this is,
0:52:27 > 0:52:30"It may be totally unsailable back in Tehran."
0:52:30 > 0:52:32He doesn't have to do this job -
0:52:32 > 0:52:34if we don't do a deal with him,
0:52:34 > 0:52:36who do we think we're going to do a deal with in the future?
0:52:36 > 0:52:38All of that sort of stuff.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Our scientists developed it
0:52:40 > 0:52:44in spite all the odds from abroad.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47That is why it has become a source of pride,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49a source of national dignity.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52This is not about weapons, this is about respect.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54This is about dignity.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04It was, um...a weekend,
0:53:04 > 0:53:05it was a Saturday
0:53:05 > 0:53:07and I was very concerned
0:53:07 > 0:53:08about where the negotiation was.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10We were not moving.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14Secretary Kerry was reporting back almost in real time to the President
0:53:14 > 0:53:16and saying, "OK, here's where we are,
0:53:16 > 0:53:18"here are the remaining sticking points.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20"We need your guidance, what do you want to do?"
0:53:20 > 0:53:24"Mr President, we are not certain these guys have the authority
0:53:24 > 0:53:27"and have the will and the capacity to make an agreement."
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Kerry told Obama that Iran was not willing to stop construction
0:53:32 > 0:53:34of the plutonium reactor.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36What the President said is, "Look,
0:53:36 > 0:53:41"I don't care if they are building some road or building a wall,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45"I care about whether they are advancing the programme via Arak."
0:53:45 > 0:53:49And so Kerry said, "Well, what if we said there's still construction
0:53:49 > 0:53:52"but none of it is relevant to Arak functioning as a reactor?"
0:53:52 > 0:53:55And the President said, "That's what I'm talking about, that's good."
0:53:55 > 0:53:58The final issue was a matter of national pride.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Iran wanted recognition
0:54:01 > 0:54:03that its struggle to create a nuclear programme
0:54:03 > 0:54:05was the legitimate act of a great nation.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10In the text, Iran insisted on words affirming
0:54:10 > 0:54:12it had the right to enrich uranium.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16He was insistent that they had no such right,
0:54:16 > 0:54:18that as a result of the agreement
0:54:18 > 0:54:21it might be that they were allowed to have some enrichment capacity,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23but not as a matter of right.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26The President had spent a lot of time thinking about this,
0:54:26 > 0:54:32he had a clear sense of what he felt he could accept
0:54:32 > 0:54:34and what he couldn't accept.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37And finally, what Kerry read to the President on the phone
0:54:37 > 0:54:41was a mutually defined enrichment capacity.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43That allowed the Iranians to say,
0:54:43 > 0:54:45"Look, we got an enrichment in the document,"
0:54:45 > 0:54:47it allowed us to say, "Well, look,
0:54:47 > 0:54:50"it's only going to be an enrichment capacity that we sign off on,
0:54:50 > 0:54:52"that we define, and it's not
0:54:52 > 0:54:54"some inherent right that they would maintain
0:54:54 > 0:54:56"even if these negotiations don't succeed."
0:54:56 > 0:55:00And as they're doing that, the President is looking at me and Tony
0:55:00 > 0:55:04to see what we thought. Tony and I signal, "Yes, this is good.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06"We would definitely recommend you do this."
0:55:08 > 0:55:13The US team then put the final compromises to the Iranians.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15Well, there were four more things they wanted
0:55:15 > 0:55:17and I said, "No, we are done.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20"We have closed, we are finished."
0:55:20 > 0:55:22I had to say, "Look, if we're in a place here
0:55:22 > 0:55:25"where we can't go forward, we're going to have to leave."
0:55:25 > 0:55:26At the end of the day,
0:55:26 > 0:55:30we decided to accept...
0:55:32 > 0:55:36..the outcome - that this was the best that could be achieved.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39APPLAUSE
0:55:44 > 0:55:48It would take another two years to nail down the technical details.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52But by the start of his last year in office,
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Obama was able to announce a triumph.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57This is a good day
0:55:57 > 0:55:58because, once again,
0:55:58 > 0:56:02we're seeing what's possible with strong American diplomacy.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Over the years, Iran moved closer and closer
0:56:05 > 0:56:08to having the ability to build a nuclear weapon.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11And, as President, I decided that a strong, confident America
0:56:11 > 0:56:13could advance our national security
0:56:13 > 0:56:16by engaging directly with the Iranian government.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19We've seen the results.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23Under the nuclear deal that we, our allies and partners reached
0:56:23 > 0:56:25with Iran last year,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29Iran will not get its hands on a nuclear bomb.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31INAUDIBLE
0:56:31 > 0:56:33At the start of his presidency,
0:56:33 > 0:56:36Obama set out to redefine America's troubled relationship
0:56:36 > 0:56:38with the Middle East.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42THEY CHANT
0:56:42 > 0:56:45When a new generation demanded democratic governments,
0:56:45 > 0:56:47he helped them topple dictators.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53But democracy did not take root in Egypt or Libya.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01He stopped one big threat - Iran's nuclear programme -
0:57:01 > 0:57:05but could not stop Isis from killing thousands in the Middle East,
0:57:05 > 0:57:07Europe and America.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11And nothing has ended the massacres in Syria.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21- OBAMA:- I will tell you that I continue to be haunted
0:57:21 > 0:57:24by what's happening in Syria.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27One of the things that I've learned in this office is
0:57:27 > 0:57:33you are constantly trying to see if we can get as much done as possible,
0:57:33 > 0:57:37understanding that there are things that are going to be undone
0:57:37 > 0:57:39that are tragedies.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41And you can speak out against them,
0:57:41 > 0:57:45you can try to change opinions
0:57:45 > 0:57:48and use your voice
0:57:48 > 0:57:52to move things towards a more...
0:57:54 > 0:57:58..ethical and moral outcome.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01But you're not always going to be successful.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04Next week...
0:58:04 > 0:58:06..Obama tackles the most intractable social issues
0:58:06 > 0:58:08of his presidency -
0:58:08 > 0:58:09race,
0:58:09 > 0:58:11immigration...
0:58:11 > 0:58:13Stop illegal immigration!
0:58:13 > 0:58:15..and guns.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18The President walked in and his first words were,
0:58:18 > 0:58:23"Friday was the toughest day of my entire time in the presidency."