News / Interviews

US has no UN authorization to attack Syria: Analyst

Saturday, 18 June 2016 4:13 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 18 June 2016 4:23 AM ]

A foreign-backed militant fires a weapon on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of Manbij, which is held by Daesh, June 15, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Press TV has interviewed James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst, and Lawrence J. Korb, a US foreign policy and national security analyst, about a recent call by some US State Department employees for strikes against the Syrian government.

Jatras says the establishment in Washington is panicking that the militants in Syria who are supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey as well as the United States itself are on the brink of defeat, and is desperate to find a way to save the terrorists.

He says the American authorities “are more concerned about getting rid of [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad, more concerned about defeating the Russians and the Iranians geopolitically, than they are about defeating these terrorists that are a threat to us at home.”

The United States and its NATO allies have no authorization from the United Nations Security Council to attack Syria, he says, warning that a potential invasion may end up becoming a direct confrontation with Russia in Syria.

The analyst further says that the idea that there are “moderate” militants in Syria is “ridiculous.”

Korb, for his part, believes the US State Department employees have expressed their personal views, which are not dispositional. However, he says, if the United States does carry out direct military attacks against the Syrian government, both US and Russian militaries will be careful to avoid a confrontation.

He claims that the State Department employees are worried about the humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place as a result of the Syrian conflict.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk