Only military deterrence can keep West away from Syria: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Daniel Patrick Welch, a Middle East expert, about the impact of fighting terrorism in Syria on other parts of the world.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How do you feel about President Assad saying that the win or victory against terrorism is vital?

Welch: Well, I think it’s exactly correct. He needs to stand his ground. What we have is the US, on the other hand, John Kerry coming out with this extremely bellicose language and threats trying to use any break in the ceasefire and actually the ceasefire itself to shore up its support for the death squads that it has been controlling and funding for five years now.

They want to say ‘Assad must go,’ the same tired one-trick pony that they’ve been harping on for five years, ‘Assad must go.’ They want to sneak that back in as chapter one of their negotiating strategy. And Assad and the Russian friends of his [are] having none of it, just ‘No, we’re going to move forward with what we need to do, which is end this foreign-backed insurgency in our country.’

Press TV: At the beginning of this crisis, Mr. Welch, many people said that President Assad just had to go and everything will just fall into place magically. Do you think that, over the years, the West has sort of come closer to President Assad’s position that militancy genuinely is a danger even to itself?

Welch: It’s funny. They don’t seem to have. It’s obvious, it’s obvious from the refugee crisis, it’s obvious from the blowback in France and all over the world, it’s obvious from any sane view of humanity that this hurts the people of the United States as much as anyone else.

But they really don’t care. And the problem is that they’re on this one-note symphony to the end. And what the Russians and the Chinese and Iranians and the Syrians have to look at US track record, ask the Native Americans who were decimated by the millions here. There is no deal that they will honor. There is no treaty they will not breach. They cannot be trusted to do anything other than what their primary plan is, which is total hegemony. They want war. It’s good for them. It’s good for business.

Press TV: But certainly, this is a very destructive policy, is it not Mr. Welch? I mean, the Saudi-backed opposition continues to demand — as does America — that President Assad step aside, and that everything, as I said, will magically fall into place. Do you think that at any point that they will realize this is destructive to them?

Welch: I don’t. And that’s a very sad commentary, but now we’re in this middle of the sham election in the United States, which is a complete fraud and a complete affront to democracy. And we’re looking at the possibility of Hillary Clinton becoming president. This is such a rabid and willing sock puppet for empire; she has never met a war she doesn’t like. It’s a very dangerous time. And what the Syrians and the Russians have to do is stand their ground. What they understand is brute force. They understand mutually assured destruction and they understand an effective military deterrent. The only thing that has stopped them so far is superior military force.

And there will be no reckoning among the incoming warmonger that the Syrian people have their own voice. No one has any respect for elections in Syria, which is a joke, because the elections in the US are proven now for the world to see to be completely rigged. And so, how dare they go and tell other people how they should run their country. They don’t recognize the parliamentary election. They don’t recognize the support of broad widespread support of the Syrian people for Bashar al-Assad. They want a coup and they’re going to get it if come hell or high water.

And the only thing to stop that is effective military deterrent. And fortunately, I think that is now in place with Assad’s partnerships with the Russians.

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