‘Turkey support for anti-Syria terrorism to backfire’

‘Turkey support for anti-Syria terrorism to backfire’
13 August, 2012 – PRessTV

Interview with Mohammad Marandi, Professor at the University of Tehran

It [Turkey’s illegal support of al-Qaeda terrorist gangs] will most probably backfire.”

Mohammad Marandi, professor at the University of Tehran
Turkey, along with the US and Persian Gulf Arab dictatorships, is actively playing a part in fueling the armed crisis in Syria to topple the Syrian government, arming and sponsoring the al-Qaeda terrorists on Syria’s soil.

The US Republican congressman, Ron Paul has warned that Washington is driving Syria into a war by interfering with the ongoing unrest in the Middle Eastern country.

“We are told that ever-harsher sanctions finally will force the targeted nations to bend to our will. Yet, the ineffectiveness of previous sanctions teaches us nothing; in truth sanctions lead to war more than they prevent war,” he has said.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Tahsin al-Halabi, political analyst from Damascus, to further discuss the role of the US-Arab-Turkish triangle in arming and supporting the al-Qaeda armed gangs in Syria.

The video offers the opinions of two additional guests: Don debar, anti-war activist from New York, and Mohammad Marandi, professor at the University of Tehran.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Professor Marandi our guest in Damascus talked about the atrocities that had been committed and that it should be obvious for everyone.

Is it obvious? Let us look at the international community because we know how the mainstream media is projecting this situation and portraying the situation in Syria.

Do you think that the majority of people living in these countries as far as the mainstream media really realize what is going on and I want to look at the role, in general in your perspective, that the media has played in this situation in Syria?

Marandi: Well, obviously the media has been completely one-sided and every massacre that were taking place in Syria before even any evidence being provided, the Western media would immediately blame the [Syrian] government and what was interesting was; after the first massacre that was carried out, which was right before a UN meeting on the country, the Syrian government was immediately condemned and for a long time people were discussing and debating who is behind it and who is responsible.

Not only on the mainstream press, but online and on more investigative websites.

But then a pattern emerged, every time there would be a UN meeting on Syria, there would be a massacre the day before, which worked very well and was very convenient for the so-called rebels. So the fact that the Western media would immediately blame the Syrian government, created this atmosphere where extremists could carryout atrocities and know that the blame would be pinned on the government.

So not only is the Western media completely biased and providing a one sided story but they are also helping atrocities being carried out by blaming the [Syrian] government for things they have no information about and for, basically, keeping silent about atrocities carried out by the opponents of the government.

Press TV: Professor Marandi, talking about these different entities like Qatar, like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, how likely is it, especially Turkey being right there on the Syrian border that is opening a can of worms that may actually backfire on itself.

We have the whole al-Qaeda and the lack of security in general now like instability. How likely is this possibly going to backfire on Turkey itself?

Marandi: Well, upon history, it will most probably backfire. Thirty years ago Pakistan was a country that really did not have such a serious problem of sectarianism that it does today; and in the 1980’s and the 1990’s largely due to American support and money from dictatorships in the Persian Gulf, specially the Saudi regime; sectarianism began to grow in Pakistan for the sake of Afghanistan.

They were supporting the rebels and so on in that country, but gradually this spread inside Pakistan itself and now we see the horrific crimes that are carried out on a very regular basis in the country.

Turkey can not align itself with Saudi Arabia and other sectarian regimes with extreme ideologies such as Wahabis and so on; and not pay the consequences ultimately.

In fact their own population condoning racial, sectarian hatred and religious hatred which is what the Saudis are doing in the other countries.

If one looks at the television stations funded by these Persian Gulf, Arab dictatorships, one can see them clearly…, there are many clips on Youtube, where the so-called clerics in Saudi Arabia say that one third of Syrians can be killed for the other two thirds or where they condone the rape of women and the murder of the children, these are all Youtube clips; these are things that people can see. Or when for example, the grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia says that all Churches in the Arabian peninsula should be destroyed.

This intolerance is something that is spread by petrodollars and Turkey can not remain normal and uninfected when it is involved in perusing such policies in Syria. So Turkey … …more