“The presence of US troops in Syria is a violation of international law,” E Michael Jones, the current editor of Culture Wars magazine, told Mehr News Agency on Saturday.
In their last provocative act, two US warplanes harassed an Iranian airliner bound to Beirut over the Syrian sky on Thursday night. US forces claim that their aircraft has kept a safe distance and was in routine mission and approached the airliner to make a visual inspection. The Mahan airliner’s pilot receives TCAS alert and abruptly reduces altitude to avoid collision and this leads to several injuries among 163 passengers and crew on board.
Meanwhile, Tehran has strongly condemned the US action, calling on the international community to stand against US violations of law. Iran says the plane had obtained all the necessary licenses and was flying in a commercial route and that warplanes have no right to inspect the civilian planes in this route also given that Syria is responsible for protecting its airspace.
To shed more light on the roots of these tensions, we reached out to Michael Jones. Here is the full text of the interview:
The recent incident brings to mind one fundamental question: Is US presence in Syria legitimate? Since Damascus considers US forces as occupiers.
No, the presence of US troops in Syria is in violation of international law. When President Trump tried to remove them, he was over-ruled by America's military-industrial complex and the Israel Lobby.
Why is US basically keeping its forces in Syria? Can it be for the country's oil? Or there are any other reasons?
The US has stationed troops in Syria to break up the Shi'a crescent which stretches from Iran to Gaza and the West Bank and allows the shipment of arms to the Palestinians living there. This was the same reason for the attempt to depose President Assad. The movement of arms to groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East, and the presence of those missiles is the main reason Israel and America backed down in the aftermath of the murder of General Suleimani.
Iran has times and again shown that it enjoys the will to respond to its enemies' hostile measures. How do you assess Tehran's probable response?
I suspect that Iran will do nothing out of fear of provoking a war before the presidential election in November. Iran is now busy consolidating its eastern flank by forming an alliance with China.
Some observers believe that the US administration is seeking to invoke a war with Iran prior to Presidential elections in November so as to use this card to win the election. What's your take on this?
The oligarchs are determined to remove Trump from the office. America is in the middle of a Soros-funded color revolution to bring that about. War in the Middle East will not save Trump from the anger of the oligarchs.
Do you think there will ever be an end to the violations of international law by the US?
Yes, when the American people wrest control of their country from the oligarchs, Big Tech, the Israel Lobby, and the Jews' proxy warriors.
Interview by Mohammad Ali Haqshenas