'Masters of the universe' should let the Syrian people solve their own problems - Lew Rockwell
It is not Macron’s business who is the Syrian president, but it is good that he thinks eliminating the terrorist threat is more important than ousting Bashar Assad in a regime change, says Lew Rockwell, editor of LewRockwell.com.
After the first day of meetings between President Donald Trump and his French counterpart in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron made a statement on how he sees a solution to the crisis in Syria, RT spoke to Lew Rockwell for his views on the meeting between the two presidents.
RT: Not long ago, Macron was saying Assad's exit was the only way to peace in Syria. Now he can stay, apparently. What's caused the sudden about-turn?
Lew Rockwell: First of all, I wonder why it is any of Macron’s business who is the president of Syria? Why is it coming from this arrogant former colonial master? It is really quite an outrage. But I am glad it happened. I am glad he is saying that I hope he means it. I would like to think that maybe it comes from the talks between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin. Can’t know that, but that is my hope. President Assad, whatever his faults, is a protector of Christians and other religious minorities in Syria. And ISIS and America's ‘moderate rebels’ want to get rid of all the religious minorities, kill them and expel them from the country.
If they want, as they say, to make fighting terrorism the main priority, how about stop supporting terrorism? They arm and support terrorists, the so-called moderate rebels in Syria. France is responsible; the US is responsible, other countries, too. Maybe he is not going to try to overthrow Assad. Maybe Assad won't try to overthrow Macron, too. That would be nice. These guys think they are masters of the universe, they should rule. They shouldn’t. Mr. Trump should pay attention to America, Mr. Macron could pay attention to France, and consider all the 'no-go zones' in Paris. Mr. Trump goes there, and an army defends him, he has no problems. But friends I talked to who recently visited Paris are sad with what has happened to the city of light; it is becoming the city of darkness.
RT: The French president has claimed France should now focus on fighting terrorism in Syria. So what were their goals before?
LR: They had been funding terrorism in Syria. It is the same thing that happened in Iraq, the same thing that happened in Libya. These powers, such as the US and France, and others, of course, want trouble, they want chaos. This is the way empires rule. So, they were never focused on fighting terrorism. Look at the terrorists they’ve put into power in Libya. Look at the people they’ve put into power in Iraq. Millions of civilians dead, homes and businesses destroyed, a whole country destroyed to get rid of the guy who also was a protector of Christians, by the way. Incidentally, one of the reasons they hate Putin is because he is a protector of Christians. They hated Saddam Hussein for the same reason. This is just trouble making. Terrorism is just a slogan. These people, a lot of them, including ISIS, by the way, have been funded by the US and by France and by other powers, so I don’t know how much we can believe them. I think this is all just baloney. They ought to pay attention to their own countries where they’ve got enough problems – the US, France and everybody else: stop meddling in Syria. Stop killing people; you’ve done horrendous damage already, get the heck out so the Syrians can handle their own problems.
RT: Trump and Macron are both image-conscious leaders. Do you think ego will get in the way of politics and practical solutions?
LR: It isn’t just politics. Julius Caesar had a big ego, too. These are the guys who think that they should be able to rule other people, to rule other countries. And I must say that is not a very nice trait of personality. It goes along with narcissism...and other problems. Let them focus on their image, let them focus on France. France has got horrendous problems. These people wanted to step up the whole migrant invasion. When Trump said France is no longer French, that is not entirely true, but that is the goal of the globalists. That is what George Soros and company would like. They would like France not to be French anymore; they would like Germany not to be German anymore…
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
