:00:26. > :00:31.austerity measures on Sunday. Time for Dateline London.
:00:31. > :00:38.Welcome to day nine London at the end of a week in which civilians in
:00:38. > :00:48.Syria have been attacked with heavy artillery. -- Dateline London. The
:00:48. > :00:51.
:00:52. > :00:56.US presidential week also took another bizarre twist..
:00:56. > :01:00.The failure of Russia and China to agree to the UN Security Council
:01:00. > :01:06.resolution on Syria set the diplomatic backdrop in a week in
:01:06. > :01:11.which there were many more civilian casualties. In Homs, many have
:01:11. > :01:18.accused the government of turning heavy artillery on their homes. Can
:01:18. > :01:21.anyone do more to stop the killing? Technically, today is very
:01:21. > :01:26.important because the Arab League is meeting in Cairo to try to
:01:26. > :01:30.resolve the crisis but of course this looks like more of the same,
:01:31. > :01:34.really. They are talking about sending back the Arab League
:01:34. > :01:40.observers which were inefficient and potentially in collusion with
:01:40. > :01:45.the Syrian regime. Military intervention has been ruled out
:01:45. > :01:51.because of Russia and China. The Syrian army has been well supplied
:01:51. > :01:56.by Russian weaponry. There had been no substantial defections so far.
:01:56. > :02:00.Casualties would be enormous. There is also the risk of the escalation
:02:00. > :02:10.of the conflict with countries like Russia, Iran, China and Turkey
:02:10. > :02:11.
:02:11. > :02:19.potentially becoming involved. Syria's allies would stand
:02:19. > :02:24.alongside Les -- Hezbollah against NATO and Israel. There would be a
:02:24. > :02:30.clear risk of escalation. There are calls in Syria for humanitarian aid
:02:30. > :02:34.but this would be difficult because you would have to have air cover or
:02:34. > :02:42.troops on the ground to allow that to happen safely. There is no
:02:42. > :02:48.question that Bashar al-Assad will be providing shelter for... He
:02:48. > :02:51.would see that as a declaration of war and would certainly attack.
:02:51. > :02:57.There are talks about training rebel forces and again that sounds
:02:57. > :03:00.very unrealistic because there would be inevitable accusations
:03:00. > :03:06.about breaking international law. And this would require a host
:03:06. > :03:16.country to train these people and it would also take a lot of time.
:03:16. > :03:21.The only thing to do is push for a political settlement.
:03:21. > :03:26.There is not going to be a Benghazi moment in this. When outside is
:03:27. > :03:32.stand up and say that you cannot kill civilians. Because Libya, for
:03:32. > :03:39.all its complications, was much more simple. The problem is the
:03:39. > :03:49.geography of geopolitics. Because of where Syria is situated. Its
:03:49. > :03:50.
:03:50. > :03:57.size and the complexity of its ethnic make-up. And when you answer
:03:57. > :04:02.to that the Chinese and Russian elements, it makes it very
:04:02. > :04:09.difficult to do anything officially. -- when you add to that. There is
:04:09. > :04:15.still a role for Turkey in this. Turkey was present six months ago.
:04:15. > :04:24.This has been going on for a year. It began to assert itself, opening
:04:24. > :04:31.up the refugee camps on its border with Syria. It allows the Free
:04:32. > :04:40.Syrian Army is meant to meet in an car. At some point, -- to meet in
:04:40. > :04:45.an career. -- to meet in the Turkish capital. There was no
:04:45. > :04:48.Benghazi moment in Libya until the rebels were able to convince the
:04:48. > :04:54.British Foreign Office that they were representing a broad swathe of
:04:55. > :05:04.the population against Colonel Gaddafi. That will not happen here.
:05:05. > :05:13.
:05:13. > :05:23.What about Iran? Imagine if successful negotiations with the
:05:23. > :05:24.
:05:24. > :05:28.previous President had yielded positive results? We also must
:05:28. > :05:38.investigate the possibility of creating the Benghazi moment. The
:05:38. > :05:39.
:05:39. > :05:46.onus is on Turkey, which has been very fond of rhetoric until now. We
:05:46. > :05:52.are marking the 30th anniversary of the butchery of people in Hama,
:05:52. > :05:55.that Bashar al-Assad's father committed, killing 25,000 people.
:05:55. > :06:03.Will we witness the possibility that under the umbrella of the
:06:03. > :06:09.Russian and Chinese, people will be massacred in Hama yet again? The
:06:09. > :06:14.President is using this Russian refusal to co-operate as an excuse.
:06:14. > :06:20.There are also historical factors. Turkey's foreign policy has been
:06:20. > :06:26.summarised as absolutely nothing. The history of the Ottoman Empire
:06:26. > :06:33.and... They will not return to 100 years ago. While Turkey is
:06:33. > :06:36.sensitive, its position is also very difficult. It is. It is
:06:36. > :06:41.interesting in Britain in terms of the British perspective. There has
:06:41. > :06:46.been a lot of talk this week about whether there would be the
:06:46. > :06:52.equivalent of the intervention in Libya. And that is on the
:06:52. > :06:55.assumption that this itself was the cornerstone of success. And an
:06:55. > :07:01.unequivocal success. I see no evidence at all that the British
:07:01. > :07:05.government is trying to even contemplate military action or
:07:05. > :07:11.putting pressure on the US to go in that direction. If we rule that out,
:07:11. > :07:21.it is not at all clear what, in terms of the West, can be done in
:07:21. > :07:24.
:07:24. > :07:31.the short-term in this situation. As the Foreign Minister was talking
:07:31. > :07:37.to President Assad... Russian arms were still being unloaded in the
:07:37. > :07:42.Syrian ports while Homs continued to be bombarded. When you say take
:07:42. > :07:52.sides, one of the complexities of this situation is that who are you
:07:52. > :07:53.
:07:53. > :08:00.going to be arming to remove the regime's just one thought on that -
:08:00. > :08:06.how is the Russian attitude seen in the Arab world? Effectively,
:08:06. > :08:11.President Bashar al-Assad is trying to wipe out all form of armed
:08:11. > :08:15.opposition. These are two sides fighting each other. Now, because
:08:15. > :08:21.we are hearing about people being killed by the Free Syrian Army as
:08:21. > :08:25.well, there are also concerns and people are calling for more
:08:25. > :08:29.security, which legitimises President Bashar al-Assad's
:08:29. > :08:36.position on the ground. A let us move on.
:08:36. > :08:44.Despite comments from American politicians about what they call
:08:44. > :08:51.the UK's socialised a medical system, many people in Britain are
:08:51. > :08:56.quite fond of the NHS. Why does the government want to change it? Could
:08:56. > :09:00.these proposals really affected David Cameron's government? We have
:09:00. > :09:05.heard that there are rumblings of dissent within the Conservative
:09:05. > :09:09.Party and the Cabinet. This is the most interesting story in the
:09:09. > :09:19.political sphere of the UK since the general election. David Cameron
:09:19. > :09:24.used to support of the NHS as a symbol for what he put forward as
:09:24. > :09:28.being a new kind of party. Within one month of taking office, up came
:09:28. > :09:34.these new proposals. We now have a situation where the bill as
:09:34. > :09:39.originally proposed has already been amended. It is still arousing
:09:39. > :09:44.as much hostility as it did at the beginning. One way or another, I
:09:44. > :09:51.think that this will not go ahead. David Cameron has insisted that he
:09:51. > :09:55.will stick with it. Andrew Lansley as well. It reminds me very much of
:09:55. > :10:00.the poll tax, the famous policy introduced by Margaret Thatcher
:10:00. > :10:06.towards the end of her regime in the late 1980s, which began as her
:10:06. > :10:11.defining issue. She decided to stick with it but in the end, she
:10:11. > :10:16.went and so do the poll tax. David Cameron will not go but this will
:10:16. > :10:21.not reach fruition. There are too many elements of this which are
:10:21. > :10:25.totally impractical. One way or another, this will not go ahead.
:10:25. > :10:32.was speaking with someone who was a strong in busiest for change within
:10:32. > :10:36.the NHS, wanting to support this bill. One thing they said is that
:10:36. > :10:46.it is needlessly complicated about things that people don't know about
:10:46. > :10:50.but are worried about. Instead, people just want better healthcare.
:10:50. > :10:54.Absolutely. They talk about revolutionary administrative
:10:54. > :11:00.changes of biblical proportions. That will bring about better
:11:00. > :11:04.healthcare. But people care more about GP quality. Every debate in
:11:04. > :11:10.this country about the NHS is very emotive. Each is not rational at
:11:11. > :11:14.all. It is like talking about the future of the Royal Family all the
:11:14. > :11:21.sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. It is so emotional because people
:11:21. > :11:27.have been captivated by these three magic letters, NHS. People do not
:11:27. > :11:31.see the truth, certainly not politicians, that it can no longer
:11:31. > :11:35.be a free medical services in these circumstances. The public must
:11:35. > :11:41.contribute. Because we have an ageing population and inflation and
:11:41. > :11:45.so on. But people want a free medical service. That is correct.
:11:45. > :11:50.The debate should be about how we pay for this and more money needs
:11:50. > :11:55.to go in. That is not the debate that we are having, which is that
:11:55. > :11:59.it should be completely restructured. They argue that this
:11:59. > :12:04.will get more value for money, which I disagree with. It does not
:12:04. > :12:09.address the actual problem which is how do we pay for something that is
:12:09. > :12:17.free? Compared to the US, we get very good value in terms of the
:12:17. > :12:22.amount of GDP per head? I come from a family of doctors. They are all
:12:22. > :12:25.in America and they have come a round, believe me. They have been
:12:25. > :12:30.long-time Republican supporters because they believe that what
:12:30. > :12:35.happens here is socialism. It is not. I have people in my family my
:12:35. > :12:42.age who would enrage the NHS in the US because the horrible things they
:12:42. > :12:45.have to do with insurance companies to get reimbursed... There is no
:12:45. > :12:51.comparison. -- would embrace the NHS in the US. What is interesting
:12:51. > :12:56.to me about this is that with the poll tax, it was simple. A
:12:56. > :13:00.millionaire would pay the same price as the pauper. That was
:13:00. > :13:05.manifestly unfair and Margaret Thatcher did not see it. Can you
:13:05. > :13:10.explain to me in one sentence for this is about? If that is the
:13:10. > :13:14.problem - no Redican! preparation for this programme, I
:13:14. > :13:18.read through everything I could find and I still could not
:13:18. > :13:24.understand it other than getting general practitioners to run their
:13:24. > :13:28.own budget. At the clinic I visit, they are exhausted at the end of
:13:28. > :13:32.their day taking care of an incredibly diverse urban population.
:13:32. > :13:37.The last thing they want to do is sit down in front of a spreadsheet
:13:37. > :13:42.and work out where their money is coming from. It is ridiculous. And
:13:42. > :13:47.it speaks of something that is not often discussed in this coalition.
:13:47. > :13:52.They promised to eliminate Labour's top-down a sense of imposing on all
:13:52. > :13:59.aspects of British life. And yet, they have done nothing but imposed
:13:59. > :14:02.from the Cabinet. One thing that is not discussed enough here is that
:14:02. > :14:07.because of his strong affection most British people have for the
:14:07. > :14:13.NHS, perhaps we are not looking at it critically in terms of how the
:14:13. > :14:17.system is going to survive in 10 or 20 years' time? It is such an
:14:17. > :14:24.emotional issue. It is an institution, Ysaye could
:14:24. > :14:29.institution not just for the Labour Party but for millions of people
:14:29. > :14:35.across the country. -- a sacred institution. That is why any
:14:35. > :14:43.tinkering with the NHS pre-Aids outcry. That is why Andrew Lansley
:14:43. > :14:53.is in such trouble. -- any tinkering with the N H S would it
:14:53. > :14:53.
:14:53. > :15:03.create an outcry. In France, most people cannot pay
:15:03. > :15:04.
:15:04. > :15:11.up front. In the UK, it is a Solar System. Once again, -- it is a
:15:11. > :15:17.pretty solid system. Once again, we turn to the US presidential race.
:15:17. > :15:27.The nature of the campaign often tells us much about the state of
:15:27. > :15:37.the Union. What do we make of Republican rhetoric? You make no
:15:37. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:42.apologies because it is so amusing to you. To have a portion of your
:15:43. > :15:49.fellow-citizens revealed as being in quite a parlous mental state...
:15:49. > :15:54.We have had another turnaround in the last week. Rick Santorum. These
:15:54. > :15:58.is not such a surprise to me. The social Conservatives at the
:15:58. > :16:05.grassroots of the Republican Party endorsed Rick Santorum at the
:16:05. > :16:12.beginning of this in January in Iowa. He wonders caucus meetings on
:16:12. > :16:16.a recount. This week -- he won those caucus meetings. This week,
:16:16. > :16:22.there were a number of meetings in the Midwest, the heartland of
:16:22. > :16:32.social conservatism. He is their man. If its electability is what
:16:32. > :16:36.counts... Rick Santorum lost a Senate seat basically by accident.
:16:36. > :16:46.And from an area that is full of social Conservatives and working-
:16:46. > :16:50.
:16:50. > :16:56.class Catholics, who would be his If anyone has ever watched on
:16:56. > :17:01.YouTube or on the BBC, if you have ever seen him, it is obvious why he
:17:01. > :17:11.cannot seal the deal. He is the least authentic political
:17:11. > :17:14.
:17:14. > :17:22.communicator I have seen in the last 20 years. Even George Bush, he
:17:22. > :17:27.has no authenticity. What he does have is massive amounts of money.
:17:28. > :17:36.Rick Santorum found a sugar-daddy, now he is back in the race. There
:17:36. > :17:46.is a joke doing the rounds. A conservative, a liberal and a
:17:46. > :17:47.
:17:47. > :17:57.moderate comes into a bar, the barman says, good morning, Mitt
:17:57. > :18:04.Romney. Everyone working on Mitt Romney's campaign, they have been
:18:04. > :18:13.quite candid. In Britain since 2008 and the financial collapse,
:18:13. > :18:23.politics has been in a east date of -- a state of flux. It is the same
:18:23. > :18:25.
:18:26. > :18:31.in America. Politics has been in a flux since 2008. Quite often in
:18:32. > :18:41.these periods, where parties have lost her best and are not clear
:18:42. > :18:43.
:18:43. > :18:53.where life is going to be in America in ten years' time, they
:18:53. > :19:10.
:19:10. > :19:20.look for Saviour's... In politics, you can see this with Mitt Romney,
:19:20. > :19:24.
:19:24. > :19:33.the candidates like Mitt Romney struggle to get through. I think he
:19:33. > :19:43.will. The politicians are acting like suicide bombers. It is
:19:43. > :19:45.
:19:45. > :19:49.mutually assured destruction. I like to sit down and watch. The
:19:49. > :19:58.Republicans are sure that a natural disaster like Obama as they see it,
:19:58. > :20:02.will not be repeated. What the Republican race shows us is how
:20:02. > :20:12.divided the Republicans are and how difficult it is going to be getting
:20:12. > :20:12.
:20:13. > :20:20.Bagger, out of the White House. -- Barack Obama. The main concern for
:20:20. > :20:28.the Republicans is the low turnout. We have seen how the enthusiasm was
:20:28. > :20:37.very much up in the Republican camp and down in the Democratic side. It
:20:37. > :20:43.is now upside down. The reality to this, the economy has, I do not
:20:43. > :20:51.know what metaphor to use. Turned a corner, employment has gone up. Not
:20:51. > :20:57.enough to significantly reduce the numbers to a level where Barack
:20:57. > :21:04.Obama could be comfortable he is going to get re-elected. It has
:21:04. > :21:13.happened. President Obama is in a much more solid position. This is
:21:13. > :21:19.not just about this particular political season, it is the fruits
:21:20. > :21:24.of decades of strategy where the most extreme elements, the ones who
:21:24. > :21:28.are most far-out to the right in the Republican Party have been made
:21:28. > :21:38.to feel that they are special. Their discourse, their way of
:21:38. > :21:39.
:21:39. > :21:48.viewing the world, many people who traditionally vote for Republicans
:21:48. > :21:52.are concerned about their tax bill. Clint Eastwood, who is everyone's
:21:53. > :22:02.idea of what a Republican should be, he made a commercial during the
:22:03. > :22:10.
:22:10. > :22:20.Super Bowl. Karl Rove went on Fox News saying, how dare he make Obama
:22:20. > :22:23.
:22:23. > :22:28.commercial. This tells us about the mental State of the Union. Rick
:22:28. > :22:37.Santorum is against contraceptive even in the case of a rape. We had
:22:37. > :22:42.just got a couple of minutes left. We would like to reflect upon
:22:42. > :22:49.Britain sending a gunboat and Prince William to the Falklands.
:22:49. > :22:59.think it was a provocation. It has nothing to do with the South
:22:59. > :23:06.
:23:06. > :23:14.Atlantic. It should be a gradual transfer of power. As the only
:23:14. > :23:19.British person on the panel... it was not for the war in 1982,
:23:19. > :23:24.they would love to get rid of the Falklands. It is expensive to
:23:24. > :23:30.defend, it caused us all kinds of diplomatic problems. I do not want
:23:30. > :23:39.to give the NHS to Argentina quite yet. They cannot do it because of
:23:39. > :23:45.the mythology that rose around the Falklands and the Iron Lady. What
:23:45. > :23:53.is very clear is that the people in the Falklands are very patriotic,
:23:53. > :23:57.very British. You see British flags everywhere. There is no question
:23:57. > :24:07.they would not like to belong to Argentina. The self-determination
:24:07. > :24:09.
:24:09. > :24:12.of people. A few hundred people, half a million penguins.
:24:12. > :24:22.submarine question is the interesting one, do we know where
:24:22. > :24:23.
:24:23. > :24:30.the submarines are? Referring it to the yuan at this moment is a very
:24:30. > :24:35.good idea. If I look at the agenda for the UN, between a Syria, Iran,
:24:35. > :24:44.they will get to make a speech and not much will come of it. I think
:24:44. > :24:49.this is sabre-rattling on both sides. It'll make everyone happy.
:24:49. > :24:53.Self-determination is very interesting. In Scotland when
:24:53. > :25:01.people say let them determine their own future, people say, what about
:25:01. > :25:11.England? In the Falklands, self determination of these penguins and
:25:11. > :25:13.
:25:13. > :25:18.so on is the defining principle. It is very interesting where power
:25:18. > :25:24.lies. It could be very difficult to dislodge Argentina in the case of