Daesh, root cause of refugee crisis: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Webster Griffin Tarpley, an author and historian in Washington, to discuss the plight of Syrian refugees.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Please tell us what is driving these Syrian refugees from neighboring countries like Jordan, which has actually been one of the main frontline countries hosting them, to Europe?

Tarpley: I would say that the root cause of the refugee crisis or the crisis of displaced persons is the existence of ISIS (Daesh). In other words the existence of what amounts to a genocide cult which is devoted to massacres and atrocities against all the civilian populations in the area and there is very little obviously confidence that ISIS can be kept out of these places.

ISIS of course is an artificial creation, funded by the Saudis, enabled by Erdogan of Turkey and his son and his daughter and the comprehensive support that Turkey is giving with also a big input from the United States. In the beginning, people like General David Petraeus and his officers about ten years ago got that going. It was called the “Anbar Awakening” or the “Sunni Awakening”.

I also would advocate much more in the way of humanitarian aid but we have to be realistic. The structures in Germany where I have been just visiting are overwhelmed and they simply cannot cope with the numbers of people that are coming. It is about 750,000 this year which is three times more than the entire previous year, so this is a great deal.

World attention I think is now concentrating on this corridor between Jarabulus on the Euphrates River and Afrin much closer to the Mediterranean. It is about a stretch of a hundred kilometers, 60 miles or so and through that area pass the ISIS supply lines. In other words all the ammunition they get from Turkey, the food they get, the recruits they get, other forms of vital logistical backup for ISIS come through that corridor.

Now, there was an attempt by the Kurds to close it about I guess ten days ago and that was prevented by the Turkish forces bombarding the Kurds. Right now if the United States or Russia is in the area, I think it is time for one of those powers or maybe both of them to help the Kurds to close that corridor. And of course that will mean the collision with Turkey because we have had Davutoglu, the Prime Minister now, saying that Turkey will never allow that ISIS corridor to be closed and I think at this point we have to assert the paramount interest of the world is to destroy ISIS. This can be done relatively easily by cutting their supply line and at that point they will tend to collapse.

So that can be done I think very efficiently. At that point the motor cause for the refugees will be put out of action. I would say a lot of people who are thinking of leaving will probably stay, many people who are around the road might turn around and go back and some of the people leaving who have gotten as far as Germany or Sweden might decide that it was time to go back. But the main thing is the Syrian conflict must be ended.  

Press TV: Well, you are talking about a long-term solution but what about speaking at the moment? All these Syrian refugees who are stranded and they have nowhere to go, they cannot go into Europe, Germany has actually had a U-turn in its open-door policy now it is having these measures to actually stop the Syrians entering Germany, so what are these refugees going to do? Who is going to have them? And the UN has asked for more funds. Do you think more funding can help these refugees?

Tarpley: I think certainly more funding and more logistics, but we have to be realistic now. Once you are forced out to become a refugee, there are no good solutions. I also note that Erdogan is the one who prevents people from going overland through Turkey and then into Greece and into other countries which would make it easier but he is the one who is forcing people to go and drown in the Aegean, getting to those Greek islands.

But I have to say, notice that what I am talking about is a very short run solution. In other words ISIS is a paper tiger, it is the junior varsity or worse. If you take away that Turkish supply line, ISIS would tend to collapse. I would say in a matter of weeks, maybe one month to neutralize ISIS and put them out of action because they have no supply line and they are very much dependent on that despite what Western propaganda says. They do not have any special abilities. It is that they get all this support from Turkey.

Press TV: But do you think that is within the interest of the Western governments to do that?

Tarpley: Well, the United States has a track record of cooperating to some extent with the Kurds. Now, of course the Russians are there. I would invite the Russians to consider the same thing. If it turns out that ISIS has been tampering with Russian aviation which is at least the possibility, at that point some kind of retaliation and the best retaliation is to cut the ISIS supply line going through that 100-kilometer Jarabulus to Afrin corridor which I think right now the entire world strategic situation revolves around that piece of territory. That is what Erdogan is trying to keep open and all persons of good will really are to cooperate to shut it at which point ISIS will wither on the vine. They have no special powers. They will succumb to lack of ammunition, fuel, food and recruits and other supplies.

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