Fall of Ramadi result of US occupation of Iraq: US scholar
The recent capture of the Iraqi city of Ramadi by the ISIL terrorist group is a consequence of the US war against Iraq and Washington’s “divide and rule” policy in the Arab country, an American political scholar says.
“The fall of Ramadi to ISIS forces is a terrible tragedy for the people of that city,” said Stephen Zunes, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco and a leading critic of US foreign policy in the Middle East.
“It’s another tragic reminder of the consequences of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq and the divide and rule tactics which have led to the serious sectarian divisions that have allowed for the rise of such a fanatical group,” Zunes told Press TV on Tuesday.
The Iraqi people must prevent the US and other foreign forces from exacerbating sectarian divisions and “making a bad situation even worse,” he added.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have been in chaos since ISIL started its campaign of terror in early June 2014.
The ISIL Takfiri group’s recent attacks on Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, have forced approximately 25,000 people to flee the city, the United Nations says.
According to an announcement on Sunday by Muhannad Haimour, the spokesman for the governor of Anbar, Ramadi has “fallen” to ISIL terrorists.
However, the US Defense Department said Sunday it is too early to say if ISIL Takfiri terrorists are in full control of Ramadi, describing the situation in the city as "fluid and contested."
Observers say that while the US and its allies claim they are fighting against terrorist groups like ISIL, they in fact helped create and train those organizations to wreak havoc in Middle Eastern countries.
The ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Iraq and Syria.
AHT/GJH
Biden set to lose re-election over his genocidal policy in Gaza: US journalist
Frightful Biden-Trump rematch planned for November: Analyst
US Empire controlling people's minds to maintain hegemony: Scholar
Iran’s security chief in Russia to underline Israel’s aggression
VIDEO | Smoke rises from Gaza as fighting continues
ICRC decries escalating Israeli raids across occupied West Bank
Israel still prevents food convoys from reaching north of Gaza: UNRWA
NYPD arrests multitude of pro-Palestine students at NYU campus
Iran’s decisive response to Israel disrupted enemy’s equations: Hamas
Iran releases details of confiscated Israeli transit cargo
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
