Professor (Ret.) James Petras: US Directly, Indirectly Backing Terrorists Under Russian Attack in Syria

• Professor (Ret.) James Petras: US Directly, Indirectly Backing Terrorists Under Russian Attack in Syria
  by http://www.presstv.ir/  
  The United States is directly supporting terrorist and militant groups in Syria that are being targeted by Russian airstrikes, an American writer and retired professor says.
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  “It’s very clear that the US is directly or indirectly involved with the terrorists even though they claim to be supporting so-called moderate groups,” said James Petras, a professor emeritus of sociology at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, and adjunct professor at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.
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  “We have very big indications that the US trained mercenaries that invade Syria have been turning over their arms to al-Nusra [Front], the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria,” Petras told Press TV on Tuesday.
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  A new US intelligence assessment says Russia has been targeting militant groups backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is Syria, deepening US anger at Moscow. The assessment, shared by commanders on the ground, has led American officials to conclude that Russian warplanes have intentionally struck CIA-backed militants in a string of attacks running for days, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
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  Obama administration officials are debating how the United States can come to the aid of its proxy forces on the ground without risking a broader conflict, according to the Journal. 
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  Moscow’s commitment to the Syrian government runs counter to current US policy, which calls for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has been beefing up its military presence in neighboring Syria, deploying warplanes, tanks and personnel to an airfield in the western port city of Latakia. It launched a coordinated air campaign last week to fight Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and other terrorist networks.
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  “We know for a fact that the al-Nusra group has worked very closely with ISIS, so by connections, direct and indirect, the US is supporting the terrorist which they claim to oppose,” Petras said.
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  “The Russian are right when they say they are bombing terrorists, the US is right when they say Russia is attacking US allies because the US is directly and indirectly terrorist groups,” he noted. “The resolution of that is for the US to stop supporting groups that work with al-Qaeda in order to prevent Russia from attacking them,” Petras concluded.

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