US illegal ops in Syria can lead to confrontation with Russia: Analyst

The United States’ illegal attempts to destabilize Syria in support of Israel have created a situation that can lead to a dangerous confrontation with Russia, says a former Senate candidate.

In an interview with press TV on Thursday, Mark Dankof said the US engagement in Syria has been a conspiracy “to overthrow the legitimate government” of President Bashar al-Assad.

“This is illegal. It is outlandish and it is now leading the situation, where there is a dangerous potential for confrontation between the United States and [President] Vladimir Putin’s Russia over this whole circumstance,” he noted.

Michael Flynn, the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said on CNN on Tuesday that President Barack Obama ignored early warnings about the rise of Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group in 2011 and 2012 because they did not fit his re-election “narrative.”

“This goes well beyond President Obama ignoring evidence that he did not want to see,” Dankof said. “This could not possibly be the result of miscalculation. It’s deliberate; it’s intentional; it’s orchestrated and the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been a full partner in this situation from the beginning.”

“And they’ve done so, because Israel wants regime change in Syria and so does the Saudi regime and Mr. [Recep Tayyip ] Erdogan in Turkey is also a full partner in this conspiracy,” he added.

Dankof further noted that terrorist groups such as “ISIL, al-Qaeda and al-Nusra and all of these other Wahhabi extremists… have been trained by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia and Turkey, equipped by these counties, financed by these countries.”

“It’s important to remember that these nations have absolutely been complicit in the deliberate importation of these Wahhabi terrorists into Syria… again to achieve the objectives of Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the Saudi regime and also the president of Turkey.”

The CIA began its covert operation in 2012 to arm, fund and train militants to overthrow the Assad government.

ISIL terrorists, some of whom were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012, now control parts of Syria and Iraq, engaging in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

“Everything that the United States has done in the Middle East… has clearly been in conjunction with primarily Israel’s interests, Saudi and Turkish interests secondarily,” Dankof said.

Since late September 2014, the US and its allies have been carrying out airstrikes purportedly against Daesh positions in Iraq and Syria.

Russia has also been conducting airstrikes on Daesh in Syria at the request of the Syrian government since September 30.

'Russia must be trusted'

“The United States, in particular, I think has a terrible credibility problem in this whole situation,” said Dankof. “We can trust all of the very, very compelling evidence that the Russians presented today on Turkey’s activities on the Turkish- Syrian border.”

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday that Moscow had evidence that President Erdogan and his family were benefiting from the smuggling of oil from territories held by Daesh terrorists.

The US, however, denied the accusations and praised Ankara for being a “great partner" in fighting Daesh militants.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, this alliance that the United States has with Israel primarily, Saudi Arabia and Turkey secondarily, has resulted in what I think will be a massive political blowback against [the US],” Dankof stated.

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