The US government is afraid of Russia’s success in fighting Daesh (ISIL) and is seeking to draw Moscow into a military “quagmire” in Syria, says a political analyst and international human rights lawyer.
“The US national security establishment is obviously running scared in the wake of Russian successes in their own campaign against ISIS,” Arno Develay told Press TV on Monday, using another acronym for the ISIL group.
US intelligence officials hope the crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt, which was apparently caused by a bomb, would force Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a tougher line against Daesh, according to The Daily Beast.
A growing number of US intelligence, military, and national security officials have indicated in recent days that the Airbus A321 was brought down by a bomb planted on the plane by ISIL terrorists, killing all 224 passenger aboard.
Develay noted that US officials are now changing their narrative to project Russia and President Vladimir Putin as an “aggressor,” ignoring the fact that Moscow was “invited” by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia launched its military campaign against terrorists operating in Syria on September 30 upon a request from the Damascus government.
The Russian air strikes come as the US and its allies have been bombing alleged Daesh positions in Syria without such permission.
Assad has also confirmed that Russia’s air strikes are being conducted in coordination with Syrian military officials.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said last week that the US military is planning to counter Russian “aggression,” while accusing Moscow of endangering the world order.
Develay, however, said “public opinion has clearly shifted in favor of Putin in the region.”
The analyst said that Washington is seeking to “draw Russia into what they hope will turn into a military quagmire.”
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