‘US, Saudis waging proxy war in Syria’
Kofi Annan has decided to quit his mission as the special UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, citing lack of support and increasing militarization of the unrest.
In a statement, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed “deep regret” over Annan’s resignation and thanked him “for the determined and courageous efforts he has made as the Joint Special Envoy for Syria.”
In another development, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Syria with British Prime Minster David Cameron during a meeting in London on Thursday.
This is while US President Barack Obama has reportedly signed a secret order authorizing more support for the armed rebels fighting against the Syrian government.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Sara flounders, co-director of the International Action Center from New York to further discuss the issue.
The program also offers the opinions of two additional guests: the Middle East expert, Christopher Walker from London and ex-amercing intelligence linguist Scott Rickard from Washington.
What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Sara Flounders, the US role has become official, it was revealed that Obama had sighed a secret order to provide support through CIA earlier in the year.
Let us break this down, first of all, at the same time Washington was saying that it was supporting the Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan. How can the US support a peace mission while it is supporting armed groups?
Flounders: Well, from the very beginning, obviously the US has had no interest in mediation and negotiation in a peace plan, they have been aiming at regime change and this is true from the sanctions that have been imposed on Syria, from the arming of the opposition groups, from the flooding of the country with well-armed mercenaries, from orchestrating all of the communications, providing everything from SAMs shoulder-aired missiles, surveillance, communications, training, funding for these mercenaries.
All of these [are] in violation of international law, in violation of the UN peace plan, and violation of the US domestic law and the US constitution, none of this has been brought before the people of the US, it is all a secret operation completely criminal, really an effort at regime change in a most brutal way.
Where the people of Syria pay a massive cost in the destruction of their whole country.
Press TV: Sara Flounders, XE services, you are familiar with the notorious American private security firm formerly known Blackwater, they have been involved in this and now it is reported that they have sent in mercenaries from Iraq into Syria, prior to that they were in Syria, now the reports have also surfaced of undercover NATO troops were also on the ground in Syria.
Who is controlling all of these groups and how, when there are also reports of militants with different nationalities like from Qatar, Egypt, Libya and Jordan.
Flounders: Well, clearly the US is making every effort to coordinate these mercenaries, assassins, organizers of death squads. Really they are quite well-equipped and by providing them with weaponry with pay, with communication with, rather, advanced technological equipment from night vision to being able to zero in on their targets.
All of this is extremely dangerous, completely illegal, criminal activity by the US government, by the Turkish government a member of NATO and by the other NATO members in league with the feudal regimes from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, actually being able to send in, and Blackwater is a good example from Iraq, operating all together to attack Syria and I want to compare it to the US effort during the [former president Ronald] Reagan administration with the contras and Nicaragua; by arming, training, providing bases for an army in an effort to bring down the Nicaraguan government, they did not succeed at that time and it is important that there is resistance to this completely criminal activity that has nothing to do with negotiations with peace plans or with any of that.
And I also want to say, just a comment on Kofi Annan because I would cast my own doubts on his sincerity.
Of course he oversaw the peace plan for Haiti which resulted in the removal, regime change, against the government of President Arastide [Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who became Haiti’s first democratically elected president] what was a US orchestrated coup and then UN troops that control Haiti to this day. So in terms of bringing down a government, certainly the US has used the UN peace plans, actually headed by Kofi Annan in the past.
But I think from the very beginning, they had no interest in a peace plan to do with Syria and they have orchestrated not only the military into this and the financing of the opposition; but also the sanctions on Syria are an effort to create enormous dislocation internally and great hardship for the whole population by cutting off all trade and exchange with every country of Europe with of the Arab League and so on.
So this is a many pronged effort of regime change and absolutely criminal on every level.
Press TV: Sara Flounders, then let us look at Russia, yes we know he, [Putin] met with Prime Minister David Cameron and the most recent development also is the fact that they are going to veto this Saudi Arabian draft resolution; but it seems like Russia, not to mention china; needs to step in, does not it?
Flounders: Well, certainly their refusal to go along with efforts to have UN authorization have been extremely important and they are providing some level of military equipment.
But really it is important to recognize that US wars were massively destructive, they have not succeeded in any of their past wars of this period. Look at Iraq, despite, you know, eight, nine years of complete US occupation they were unable to prevail in Afghanistan today, unable to prevail huge destruction of the whole population that has ground on now 11 to 12th years and yet the US policy in terms of securing this area fro their profits; they have not succeeded.
So it is important to see the limits of the US’ power even while it is highly coordinated, it is an effort to secure and change the entire region, it is linked to trying to stop the huge upsurge that happened in Egypt, overthrowing a US dictator of 30 years.
And I do not think will succeed, I think …
MY/MA
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