In a VOA interview, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma says the Obama administration is backing the wrong side in the conflict and offered to provide evidence that it was mathematically impossible for Alassane Ouattara to win the disputed November presidential run-off vote over embattled President Laurent Gbagbo.

“I do know that the French have always had pretty much control of the government in the Ivory Coast and that’s just the way the French operate, until President Gbagbo got there and, of course, the French have been running against him ever since that time. And, the current opponent, Ouattara, is no exception; he is the chosen one by the French and, quite frankly, they rigged the election,” said Inhofe.

“The French have come in and I don’t know how many thousands of people they have killed because they won’t quantify it. They killed over a thousand in Deukoue, a town in the western part, and those were the people who are Gbagbo supporters. And they said that wasn’t us that killed the people, but it had to be because Gbagbo had no troops there. So it’s a reign of terror by Ouattara and it’s supported by the French...[I] am afraid I’m losing this one, but somebody has to tell the truth,” Inhofe said.

Let's look at Inhofe's credibility when it comes to the matters pertaining to the military: Remember when Inhofe lied about military spending?

INHOFE: Here we are in Afghanistan right now. We have our -- our men and women in uniform in harm's way. And we hear an announcement we're cutting -- and I would say gutting -- our military. I've never seen a budget like this. We're spending so much money. The Obama budget has increased welfare and all time we're doing this, increasing all these welfares to an (INAUDIBLE), the only thing in the budget that's being cut is military. Right here, things are going to increase. The numbers are going to increase and yet we're cutting the budget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Cutting and gutting the military budget. Joining us now is Jim Arkedis. He's the director of the National Security Project of the Progressive Policy Institute. You guys check on these things...

JIM ARKEDIS, PROGRESSIVE POLICY INSTITUTE: We do.

SANCHEZ: ...to make sure the figures are right. So because you're down now in the middle, I'm going to ask you the question -- is Senator James Inhofe correct to say that President Obama is "gutting the U.S. military budget?"

In fact, he goes on to say disarming America.

ARKEDIS: Obviously, the senator's words are pretty ridiculous. President Obama has proposed an increase, as the numbers you just rattled off suggested. And there's absolutely no hint any time in the future that America's military budget is going to be gutted or we're going to be incapable of fighting the wars that -- that we are in now and we will look to in the future -- or have to in the future.

Listen, I want out of our conflicts in the Middle East as much as the next guy, as you all know, but what Inhofe said about military spending is just a lie and ridiculous, so why are we to believe him now? And in the Ivory Coast, I'm backing the International community and what was a fair election that was validated by the UN.

France is trying to end the hostilities in the Ivory Coast as the ex-leader, Gbagbo still refuses to surrender and remains holed up in his residence.

Soldiers traded fire with guards at the residence where Laurent Gbagbo is ensconced, refusing to stand down as president, French officials said. France, the former colonial power, has called on Mr Gbagbo to resign after losing November's election.

Forces loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, are besieging the residence. They were driven back when they tried to storm the site in a chic district of Abidjan on Wednesday, after talks on a cease-fire and Mr Gbagbo's departure ran into difficulty. The incumbent president continues to insist he won the election, despite international recognition of Mr Ouattara's victory.

Mr Gbagbo says Mr Ouattara's troops want to kill him but they say they have strict orders to capture him alive.

Earlier in the day, The Japanese ambassador says mercenaries had taken over his house and used it as a launching point of gunfire while he hid in a safe room with several other people:

Late on Wednesday, French helicopters moved in to evacuate the Japanese ambassador, Okamura Yoshifumi, and his aides after his home near the presidential residence was invaded by unidentified gunmen.

They were taken to safety in a French military camp at Port-Bouet, south of Abidjan, the French embassy said. The French said they had acted after a request from Japan and the UN.

During the operation, French forces exchanged fire with fighters defending Mr Gbagbo's residence.

Speaking before his rescue, Mr Yoshifumi told AFP news agency that a group of "mercenaries" had occupied his residence for five hours. While he and others sheltered in a safe room, the gunmen used his residence as a firing-point to launch rockets and fire machine-guns and cannon, he said.

He said he had later found that four people employed at the residence, security guards and a gardener, had "vanished", and there was "a lot of blood" in the house. It was not clear if the gunmen were part of the forces defending the nearby presidential residence or the attacking forces loyal to Mr Ouattara.

France has troops in the country alongside UN peacekeepers, attempting to maintain security around Abidjan under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said neither French nor UN troops were involved in the new offensive against Mr Gbagbo.

The Red Cross says: "The population in Abidjan has been very hard hit" Hospitals have been over flowing with the wounded and bloodshed is being spilled as we speak and I do hope it ends as soon as possible.
In any case, Alassane Ouattara has a very difficult road ahead if and when he takes over the torn country.