AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Press TV
Sunday

1 September 2013

7:30:00 PM
458505

Eric Draitser: US wants to break up Shia alliance in Middle East

Press TV has conducted an interview with Eric Draitser, Founder of stopimperialism.com, about the issue of protests in many continents against the proposed military intervention by the US against Syria.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The following is an approximate transcript of the interview. Press TV: We are starting to see, it seems, reactions on all continents about this proposed US attack on Syria. How likely is it that it will make a difference in Washington’s decision? Draitser: Well, Washington’s decisions have never really been based on public opinion. If they were, then we wouldn’t even be discussing the issue because in the United States approval ratings for a war on Syria are less than 10 percent at best. So, I don’t know that public opinion is really going to have too much sway - That’s not to say that people shouldn’t demonstrate that people shouldn’t do what they can. But the decisions are going to be made based on geo-political interests and based on political calculations of the Obama administration, by their partners in Britain as well as in France and in Qatar and in Saudi Arabia. So, what we’re seeing then is a mobilization of people at the grassroots level demonstrating that ‘the people’ are against the war while the ruling establishment continues to move forward - though they did reach somewhat of a stumbling block in London with the UK parliament vote against a war in Syria.But it remains to be seen whether or not that could change given new developments. Press TV: What about the United States - you talk about geo-political interests. What is positive for the United States to be involved in this situation? We know that there is a continual economic crisis inside the United States, of course after fighting wars now for a long time. What is in the United States’ interest to lead an attack on Syria? Draitser: The United States first and foremost from a strategic perspective has long since dreamed of breaking the Shia crescent and a war against Syria is really a prelude to a war on Iran. An article that I wrote earlier this week was to that effect: The alliance that exists between and the Maleki government in Iraq and the Assad government in Syria and the Hezbollah group inside of Lebanon is a very powerful resistance and a very powerful block to US/NATO/Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. So, part of the strategy has long since been... and you could go back to the early part of last decade where Wesley Clarke even outlined all of this that the strategy has always been to destroy Iranian influence in the region by breaking apart the Shia alliance that exists and Syria is the key lynchpin in all of this.And we should also remember the very, very important deal signed between Iran, Iraq and Syria for a gas pipeline that would rival future Israeli gas exports as well as current Qatari gas exports. So when we’re looking at the war in Syria and the US interests in it, the interest is very simple: maintain hegemony by depriving the Iranians of a key ally and by breaking apart the region as best they possibly can./149