US wants to save Daesh headquarters in Syria: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Gordon Duff, a senior editor of the Veterans Today from Ohio, about massacre of over a dozen civilians in the Syrian city of Manbij during US-led coalition’s airstrikes.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: You think after that huge botched operation which resulted in the massive civilian deaths just last week near Manbij the US-led coalition might use little more discretion, but reports on the ground have shown us otherwise, your thoughts.

Duff: Well, the interesting point here is that the US is getting into this trouble involved in the last ditch high risk air operations in support of this relief of their failed operation in Manbij, which is really in itself a deception and the entire operation is an attempt to save Raqqah with it, to allow ISIS to remain in their capital inside Syria as long as possible. And they've been sitting in this town for no reason at all; there's no reason for them to be there. And it’s really a flagging force that the US brought in there. They've brought them to a target in this case the Syrian allies are Kurds that don't want to be involved in this fight. It's not their fight, it's not the target they're going after and it's a political war for the US.

And the US has gotten into trouble by their fighting this political war without going to Russia for cooperation, without working with the permission and an aid from the Syrian government which should be legally retired. Instead they're cowboying and they're doing exactly what they did in Afghanistan and Iraq year after year with their drone killings. They're killing civilians and to a large extent they're killing civilians quite effectively which is the only thing the US has been able to do in the Syrian war. There's no evidence they've done any damage to ISIS at all.

Press TV: And last week’s attack, their strikes by the US-led coalition in Manbij, how was it covered, just out of curiosity, in Western media there in the US where you are, Mr. Duff?

Duff: There's no coverage at all. The current attack is not coming in the American press whatsoever; it's not in the British press whatsoever; it's not going to be carried through the investigation of the July 9th attack. And they claim 14 dead and there are incredible forces that can make that five to six times as many dead. There's no report on investigation.

Press TV: If the US-led coalition was to organize intelligence with the Russians who in turn are organizing their intelligence with the Syrian government, would that mean that the intelligence on the ground would minimize the loss of civilian life? What priority could possibly outweigh protecting innocent civilians on the ground where this isn't taking place? 

Duff: There's not much so ever. I've interviewed the Russian officials involved in the negotiations. We worked directly with the Russians inside Syria on the ground. We have people with them. We know the kind of intelligence they get because they're working with the long-established Assad intelligence network which has tremendous human intelligence. The US operates on satellite and signals intelligence and it's worthless. It's all basically interpretation. No one's accountable.

The Syrians have people on the ground with mobile phones, with radios. They're getting direct information. People are watching the targets. The US isn't doing that and they have access to its intelligence but instead of dealing with Syria and dealing with Russia, they’re cowboying this and they're killing a lot of people. And it's entirely political. And certainly Kerry knows this. He and Lavrov have to be talking about this but Kerry is not authorized to do anything that has the US sharing information with the Assad government and those are the people they have to work with the legally recognized government in Damascus. There's no other choice.

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