Western media set stage for Syria intervention

An analyst says the BBC and usual Mainstream media suspects are raising the bar of bias against Syria to condition their populations for a military intervention.

In the background of this, hundreds of US troops have arrived in Turkey as part of a NATO mission to operate Patriot missile batteries delivered to the border with Syria. Several other major countries have opposed the move as a provocation that will add to the regions problems. More than a year ago now the US requested military intervention in Syria through the United Nations and this was vetoed by Russia. Many observers are now saying this move is preemptive to a no fly zone. The last time the US acted against the UN vote was when it invaded Iraq in 2003.

Press TV has interviewed Mr. Chris Bambery, political commentator, London about this issue. The following is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: US military personnel have arrived in Turley at Incirlik air base. The immediate question that comes to mind as some have speculated prior to their arrival – Is there a no fly zone that is going to be enacted, the possibility of that – or a military intervention of some kind?

Bambery: We have to be clear, there is already a military intervention going on with Britain, America, France providing arms. There is reports that Special Forces are already operating across the border – so there is the beginnings of a military intervention.

But this is a serious stepping up aimed not just at Syria, but also potentially against Iran as well, we should be aware of. A US presence there now that the presidential election is out of the way I think we are seeing a ramping up of this.

And of course we know from past experience America is very good at creating incidence, which could justify as it did in Vietnam an intervention in a region. So once you have American forces there something could happen, which would give the Americans a pretext for intervening in it.

But I think it is also clear that the Western coverage of what is going on is so biased now that the people are really being fed unbelievable stories.

This morning I switched on BBC radio who reported verbatim opposition figures in Syria saying that car bombs that had exploded today in Damascus were carried out by the Assad government – we had to wait some minutes before they reported that the government is refuting this.

So the media is feeding lies essentially as to what is going on here, which is creating an atmosphere in which intervention can take place. I think we have to be on guard very much about this.

The build up we are seeing in Turkey is what I believe the beginnings of a further extension of Western intervention, which I think will be drawn into some sort of no fly zone or a direct intervention. But as I say, that intervention is already happening with the West providing weapons, training and so on.

So it’s a very short step from here to a direct military intervention in this conflict.

Press TV: It’s interesting because I think Turkey and other countries allied together of course the US, France, the UK etc. they think that perhaps this is under their control, but these insurgents on the ground, these foreign-backed insurgents not to mention the groups that are al-Qaeda linked, whether they are unified or not they have come out and said, we are the ones who are going to dictate the fate of Syria.

Doesn’t that run counter perhaps to what the foreign-backed countries at this point are wishing for – that this may go and work against them, the grand plans that they have?

Bambery: Of course. You are right in this. When you have an example in Libya when the West intervened to topple the Gaddafi regime and of course things have not quite worked out in Libya as they had hoped for; they are not in control of the situation there.

I personally believe a similar scenario is developing where the West provide the weaponry, but they’re not in control of these organizations.

Maybe some people believe that actually what the West wants is not a form of political solution in the sense of the opposition winning, they’re just interested in creating chaos in order to weaken the Assad regime and weaken the whole situation in the region to strengthen the West’s hand.

So it may be that the West is not interested in creating some sort of stable political entity in Syria, they’re just happy for this to descend further into chaos because it suits their interests and it suits the interests of Israel.

But we have seen as I said in Libya a scenario opening up where the West did intervene and it’s clearly not in control of the situation and I think that is causing deep concern in America and Britain about what the price of Western intervention will be in Syria.