US support for Syria militants to boomerang: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst in Washington, to discuss the approach the West has adopted vis-à-vis the Syrian conflict.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: When it comes to fighting the terrorists in Syria, why is there no political will from the West to do something with these terrorists despite their claim of fighting terrorism?

Jatras: It is plain hypocrisy but unfortunately, it is not surprising. It is what we have come to expect. This Jaish al-Fatah, this army of conquest, of which a primary element is the al-Nusra front, Al-Qaeda, is supported by our allies –Saudi Arabia, Turkey and (Persian) Gulf states- and this evidently is fine with a lot of people in Washington and if it kills innocent civilians because of their religion, that evidently doesn’t bother anybody’s conscience here in the American government. It is considered par for the course.

Press TV: Why is it that there is not that much hype about what is going on in Syria and we fail to see any international outcry of the situation there?

Jatras: Well, I can only speak about the domestic situation here in the United States but I think it is probably similar in Western Europe as well. It is amazing the extent to which our state media have simply become conduits for government propaganda and if our government is not saying anything about this, and of course they are not, then the media will not pick it up either. It has been like this throughout the course of the war.

I remember early on when there were terrorist bombings in Damascus, you think we are against terrorism; we announced loudly to the world that we are against terrorism but if it is terrorism that kills people that we are opposed to, then I guess we are not all that opposed to terrorism.

Press TV: What do you think it takes to end the war in Syria and to solve the situation there?

Jatras: I think the United States has got to understand that supporting these Jihadist groups, these radical Sunni organizations that are trying to impose a sectarian order on Syria and are importing all these foreign terrorists into Syria, is not in the American interests and we have got to start pressuring our allies to stop supporting these groups. Because, as we have seen now with the destabilization of Turkey, it is going to come back and bite them too, and all of our friends in the region.

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