Assad’s chemical weapons dismantlement deserves congratulations: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Stephen Lendman, the author and radio host from Chicago, about Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, which has been dismantled or destroyed by 80 percent to date.

The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.

Press TV: How much does this commitment by Syria to get rid of its chemical weapons show its willingness to end the crisis and tension in the country?

Stone: Absolutely. The fact that the Syrian government has managed to eliminate about 80 percent of its chemical weapons is a great credit to the government of Syria. It increases the credibility of the government of Syria in that it’s keeping to its international commitments.

It’s amazing actually that under attack by some 100,000 mercenaries paid for by some of the most powerful countries in the world including Canada, the US, Britain, France; financed by the Arab despots in Qatar and Saudi Arabia; and helped by Turkey and Jordan that Syria under all this attack has managed to keep up its end of the deal. It’s a real victory for the Syrian government.
Press TV: Should it be the West’s turn now to show its commitment and stop supporting and funding the terrorists in Syria?

Stone: Absolutely. The so-called Friends of Syria (FSA) group has been maintaining this covert war of aggression as a form of humanitarian intervention in Syria, but it’s completely a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

And it’s entirely hypocritical for the United States, for example, to draw a red line for chemical weapons when the United States itself has not lived up to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – it has not gotten rid of its nuclear weapons and it has broken off talks with Russia and with other countries over that matter.

And again, what’s even more ironic about this concerning Obama’s red line is that the chemical attacks that took place in Guta for which we almost came to war – major regional war – were not the fault of the Syrian government, but rather it has now been clearly proven, the fault of the mercenaries, the foreign-backed mercenaries.

Just as one year ago those attacks in the spring of 2013 – March 2013 – were shown by Carla Del Ponte, the UN special investigator to have been carried out by the rebels. So, the hypocrisy here in the West is amazing.

The Syrian government deserves a lot of credit, under a state of siege, keeping up its end of its international commitments and getting rid of the chemical weapons.

By getting rid of the chemical weapons the Syrian government has removed one more excuse, one more pretext for an all-out western attack on Syria.

So, from the point of view of the peace movement I think we should congratulate the Syrian government and say that this really gives a lot of legitimacy to President Bashar al-Assad.
Press TV: What guarantee is there that these chemical agents, which are shipped out from Syria will not fall into the wrong hands out of Syria?

Stone: I’m not sure of what guarantees there are. I am more concerned actually about the weapons that the Western countries are putting into the hands of the mercenaries right now: Anti-aircraft hand-held missiles and anti-tank hand-held missiles being paid for by the government of Saudi Arabia and being sent through the work of the United States.

What if they go home with those weapons at the end of this war to Canada, to the United States and Britain …? Imagine the chaos that would be caused?