US aims to break anti-Israeli resistance front by striking Syria: Analyst

A political analyst says the US plots to break the alliance among members of the anti-Israeli resistance front in the Middle East by launching a military attack against Syria, Press TV reports.

“The alliance that exists between Iran and the [Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maleki government in Iraq and the [President Bashar] al-Assad government in Syria and the Hezbollah group inside of Lebanon is a very powerful resistance and a very powerful block to US/NATO/Israeli hegemony in the Middle East,” said Eric Draitser, the founder of stopimperialism.com.

“So, part of the strategy has long since been … to destroy Iranian influence in the region by breaking apart the Shia alliance that exists and Syria is the key lynchpin in all of this,” Draitser added.

On Saturday, US President Barack Obama said he would seek a congressional authorization for an attack against Syria as Washington “cannot and will not turn a blind eye” to an alleged chemical attack in the Arab state. The Obama administration has, however, said it “has the right” to attack Syria even if the Congress does not approve the measure.

The call for military action against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused Assad’s government of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.

“So, when we’re looking at the war in Syria and the US interests in it, the interest is very simple: maintain hegemony by depriving the Iranians of a key ally and by breaking apart the region as best they possibly can,” the political analyst concluded.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million displaced due to the violence.