Sending US weapons to the Syrian opposition will trigger a wave of chaotic violence, an ex-Pentagon official told RT. The arms could end up in the hands of Al-Qaeda or Al-Nusra Front and only serve to prolong the conflict.
The White House announced on Thursday that US intelligence has
conclusive proof of chemical weapons use by the Assad government,
though a prior report by the UN on the opposition’s use of such
weapons complicates matters.
President Obama is said to be considering plans for greater
military intervention in Syria following the pro-Assad forces'
crossing of his administration’s ‘red line’. The increased
support will include arming the country’s opposition fighters and
could mean enacting a no-fly zone adjacent to Jordan’s border.
Michael Maloof, a former Pentagon official, spoke with RT
regarding this week’s announcements by US officials.
RT:Washington claims Assad has used chemical weapons.
Can we trust that conclusion?
Michael Maloof: In my view, we have to be very skeptical.
I was at the Pentagon when intelligence assessments were made
regarding Iraq and its WMD programs, and we know what the results
were. A trillion dollars later, 4,500 [American] lives and we
have nothing to show for it and there were no WMD. As previous
commentators have pointed out, US intelligence assessments have
to be looked at very, very carefully. This actually goes against
the UN’s preliminary determinations.
I think the US decision to arm is a very dangerous one. It will
inevitably lead to uncontrolled sectarian violence as a result,
and it actually could have an impact I believe on convening the
Geneva II meeting, which the United States and Russia were
supposed to chair. I think the United States is acting at the
behest of Qatar and Saudi Arabia in order to push the
Sunni-Wahabi agenda into Syria and ultimately into Lebanon - and
this is very, very dangerous.
RT:Surely ANY indication of the use of
weapons of mass destruction is enough to apply tougher
measures?
MM: Well, it depends upon who fired it. It depends upon who
launched the gas. There is evidence - and this is from the United
Nations, a very impartial group - that looked at it, and they
claimed it came from the opposition, they have a capability. The
intelligence assessment, which of course I haven’t been able to
see since it’s classified, really needs to be looked at very
carefully and scrutinized and questioned seriously in light of
our previous experience in Iraq.
RT:What's the significance of the timing of these
allegations?
MM: The timing was to give the opposition a little bit of
backbone, because they are desperate. The tide has turned in
favor of the Assad government; the timing is meant to boost
morale. But the opposition is so fractured, how do you determine
who will get the foreign arms? So that it doesn’t get into the
hands of the foreign fighters, the Al-Nusra, the Al-Qaeda types.
There’s no guarantee about this, and that’s why I believe it’s
going to prolong the conflict.
‘No-fly zone on the cards’
As to why the White House has determined that Syria’s government
has crossed a ‘red line’, Deepak Tripathi, Honorary research
fellow at the University of Roehampton, tells RT President Obama
faced pressure on all sides.
RT:London said it is undecided on whether to follow up
on these accusations. What do you make of it?
Deepak Tripathi: I think president Obama’s announcement
that he has concluded that the Syrian government has used
chemical weapons leaves no doubt that there will be some direct
intervention from the US. Perhaps arms supplies, which had been
going to the rebels through Jordan via Saudi Arabia and Qatar in
any case. But that may not be enough against the background of
several Syrian government victories. So, I think that the
possibility of a limited or more broad no-fly zone for Syria is a
distinct possibility at some stage in the near future.
RT:US allies have previously supported the US in their
previous escapades. Could the US go it alone in arming the
rebels?
DT: US allies, especially France and Britain, have been
pushing the US and Mr. Obama in particular towards this decision.
Mind you Mr. Obama has been under pressure domestically as well.
In the past week, former President Clinton’s comments describing
Mr. Obama as a "fool" if he didn’t intervene in Syria really hurt
Obama’s pride, and I think he made this decision against the
background of both domestic and foreign pressures.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.