US Journalist: Syrian truce just a show-piece

“The resolution was put forward by Kuwait and Sweden, backed by the US, UK and France. Unfortunately I believe the resolution was a show-piece, pretending to seek peace but actually intending to prolong the war, Rick Sterling said in an exclusive interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) commenting on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta.

“The Syrian government has proposed a ceasefire time, trying to stop the armed conflict. In some areas of the country that has been successful. But in East Ghouta the so called 'rebels' have never stopped launching indiscriminate mortars and shell cannon missiles into greater Damascus for the past 7 years. When the armed opposition stops indiscriminate attacks into Damascus, there can be a ceasefire for 30 days and much longer,” he added.

“But currently the terrorists in East Ghouta persist in attacking heavily populated Damascus with dozens of mortars and shell cannon missiles daily. They have been doing this for seven years! I personally saw the effects in April 2014 when a mortar landed on the street right in front of our hotel. Several people were killed,” Sterling noted.

He went on to say that since the armed groups will not stop, the Syrian government has finally determined to remove the terrorists. That is what is going on. Countries which have supported the campaign to overthrow the Syrian government are trying to block the Syrian government from finally removing the terrorists on the outskirts of Damascus.

Elaborating on the reason why the militant groups prevented the evacuation of civilians from Eastern Ghouta, he said, “It's a good idea to have a safe passage. But the armed groups don't like that because they need to keep some civilians to protect themselves.”

“Most of the civilians left East Ghouta years ago. Some are trapped there, some are prisoners there and a very small number support the armed groups or are family members. Recall that the terrorists receive salaries ... some are extremist sectarian and others are simply mercenaries,” American journalist said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said, “After the liberation of East Aleppo, it was shown that the Western news reports were hugely exaggerated and misleading. There were many fewer civilians than reported and the civilians were happy with the defeat of the terrorists. They also reported that the armed groups ... primarily Jabhat al Nusra ..... had prevented civilians from leaving and killed some who tried. The terrorists need to have some civilians to use as a human shield and for their propaganda.”

“Ambassador Haley is not much of a diplomat. She seems to operate in propaganda mode, making big accusations with little or no evidence. If Ambassador Haley wanted to do something positive, she could recommend that US ally Saudi Arabia stop bombing Yemen. Yemen never attacked Saudi Arabia. This is aggression pure and simple. The same contradiction applies in Syria which is defending itself from attack by outside parties,” he said commenting on his idea toward Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN and her statement in the context of the US policy the Middle East, particularly in Yemen and Iraq.

“Unfortunately the US has interfered in the Middle East with disregard for the people. They seems to act only in the interests of oil corporations, the military industry and overall geopolitics. The US now seeks to make a US air base in Syria permanent, in clear violation of international law,” he added.

Regarding the significance of passing the resolution if the members of the Security Council could overcome their differences, Sterling said, “It would be good if that was possible. However there is now little trust. We saw what happened in spring 2011 when the UN Security Council allowed a resolution to impose a 'humanitarian' No Fly Zone in Libya.”

“The UN resolution was used to justify a 7 month bombing campaign which destroyed the Libyan government. The country is still in chaos. I think Russia, China and others now realize the mistake that was made and will not allow an agreement which might sound pretty but actually leads to more bloodshed.”

“I think Mattis statement only applied to the accusations about nerve agent Sarin that were made a few weeks ago. I don't interpret his comment applying to the incidents in August 2013 or April 2017. However he acknowledged the recent reports came from fighters and 'NGOs'. It's good that he admits this is not reliable evidence, but I am not sure how deep that goes. Overall I think there is internal disagreement with National Security Advisor McMaster pushing for more US aggression,” he said regarding the recent remarks made by Secretary of Defense James Mattis saying that the US has “no evidence” that the Syrian government used ‎‎the banned nerve agent Sarin against its own people.‎‏

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