Press TV has conducted an interview with
Gordon Duff, senior editor of Veterans Today from Ohio, about the
continuing clashes between the Kurds and the Takfiri ISIL militants in
northern Syria.What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Why are we seeing now more and more aggression against the Kurds in Syria?
Duff: In
particular, there are strategic values that the Kurds are sitting right
on the top of the lower branch of the Kirkuk, Baku, Ceyhan oil pipeline
where the stolen oil is travelling.
The Kurdish region sits along the Turkish border where the rat line supplying arms, ammunition and money and new Jihadists coming into Syria and Iraq travel.Turkey has a powerful military and when there has been any threat near its border of any kind it has never abided it and Turkey is sitting this one out despite promises to do otherwise.
Press TV: Why do you think that is the case? What do you think we see as you said basically Turkey sitting and not doing what they usually would do as for security?
Duff: I think they are partners in oil money that ISIL is involved in. I think they are making money in the arms trade with them.
I think that weakening the Kurdish region of Syria and the weakening of the Kurdish regional government of Iraq are going to lead to increased Turkish influence within the region.
Press TV: How do you see Turkey’s role?
Do you think that what they are doing is actually in conjunction with what the United States wants although in the surface they appear to be going against or at least not going along with this so-called coalition that Washington has formed to fight ISIL?
Duff: There is a broad divergence within the United States. Despite protests, the other direction the very powerfully financed pro-Israeli lobby within the US – the Republican Party- has been broadly supporting ISIL all along.
ISIL is no longer dependent as they were on funds from Qatar or from Saudis. They are becoming profitable on their own. They are getting far more oil than anyone could imagine. ISIL is a big business and they have business partners and Turkey– we are beginning to suspect is one of them.