Washington’s “confused” and “immoral” policies are behind challenges US Defense Secretary Ash Carter says his country is facing against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, according to a political commentator.
Andrew Taylor made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV about the recent statements by the Pentagon chief.
It is “quite a kettle of fish here because they [American officials] have been trying to overthrow the regime in Syria for some years now,” he said on Thursday, adding that this is the result of “very confused and immoral” policies by the United States.
On Wednesday, Carter stated that the lack of trained forces in Iraq is a challenge that the United States faces in its fight against the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.
Taylor, however, opposed Carter’s point of view and believes it is Washington’s own policies that have weakened the Iraqi military.
“Iraqi forces are demoralized for an obvious reason; they have been devastated by the American occupation and the American war,” he added.
The United States has sent more than 3,000 military personnel to Iraq in order to train the country’s security forces. According to Carter, recruitments fell short of the envisioned 24,000 forces and only around 9,000 Iraqis were recruited.
Carter also pointed to the issue of the ISIL terrorist group in Syria, where Washington is openly training the so-called “moderate” militants to fight the Assad government.
Taylor slammed the White House and its allies in the Persian Gulf countries for trying to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“It all goes back to the interference in the region. In Syria also America with Israel and with the [Persian] Gulf States has tried to dislodge Bashar al-Assad’s government,” he said.
The analyst also criticized Carter for his policies and called him “a bad choice” that President Barack Obama has made.
“Carter himself is a very bad choice that Obama made, technocrat who in the past has argued for extensive use of heavy weaponry, is known to be a hawk, and he is no friend to the average Americans,” he said.
“It is a question of some division in the United States’ ruling class, but also their constant pursuit of a new tactic to extract oil, to extract leverage, making gains in the Middle East; gains of territory, gains of alliances, and economic gains through oil contracts,” Taylor concluded.
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