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US downing Syria drone, blatant escalation of conflict: Analyst

Friday, 09 June 2017 3:29 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 09 June 2017 3:33 PM ]

In this picture taken on Nov. 21, 2016, a US Navy fighter jet takes off from the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. (Photo by AP)

A former US diplomat believes the downing of a pro-Syrian drone by US jets near the Jordanian border and killing over a dozen civilians in Syria’s northern province of Raqqah is a “blatant escalation” of the conflict, adding that US President Donald Trump is clearly involved in escalating the war in Syria despite his campaign promises.

“He opposed [former presidential candidate] Hillary Clinton and her support for the forever war in the region and yet now Trump is deeply involved going far beyond what his predecessor Barack Obama had done,” Michael Springmann told Press TV in an interview on Friday.

“This is the third attack in less than a month”, he noted, asserting that Washington has essentially “invaded” Syria without declaration of war by US Congress as the constitution requires.

The US has been conducting airstrikes against what it calls Daesh positions inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate. The attacks have claimed the lives of hundreds of Syrian civilians over the past two months.

The analyst further said it is “amazing” that the United States can assert a deconfliction zone in Syria without consultation with the “legitimate government” in Damascus.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Springmann added that the US seeks to intensify its anti-Iran stance because the Islamic Republic is the only country that “does not toe the American line”.

The analyst further highlighted the fact that the US has increased the number of its ground troops in Syria and is training terrorist organizations under the guise that they are moderate militants.

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