Russian lawmaker on US policy in Middle East

Situation in the region is becoming much less stable

The last several years has been marked by further destabilization in the Middle East. The civil war which started in March 2011 continues in Syria. The ongoing conflict has caused the deaths of at least 100,000 people, while 2.3 million refugees have left the country. Iraq is also in a state of crisis caused by the deposition of Saddam Hussein. Radical Islamists have already captured several Iraqi cities and are now preparing to launch an offensive on Baghdad. Syria is also facing a number of challenges after the civil war, which resulted in the deposition of Muammar Gaddafi.  The head of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee, Alexey Pushkov, commented on the US policy in the region.

According to the Russian lawmaker, President Obama's policy is unsuccessful. "There is no progress whatsoever in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Libya, which was once a country with $15 thousand per capita income (which is higher than in any Arab country), even though it was led by an authoritarian ruler, is now a no-man's land. Libyan prime ministers are being kidnapped, the cabinet does not control oil deliveries, the US ambassador in the country has been killed. It means that the policy towards Libya is a debacle," Pushkov said.

Alexey Pushkov also notes that the current Iraqi crisis was caused by the Syrian civil war. "By welcoming the possible deposition of al-Assad, the US cleared the way not only for the opposition groups in Istanbul, but also to radical Islamists. These extremist groups are formed by people from various Arab and Muslim states as well as from the UK, France and Germany. We had never heard about the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant group. There was no such group before. It emerged during the Syrian war. We warned our colleagues in the PACE against supporting the Syrian rebels. We urged them to take into consideration their slogans, for instance "Damascus is the first stop, Baghdad is the second!" This slogan was used two years ago. There's also another one - "Christians to Beirut, Shiites to the graveyard!"  Those who can speak Arab know the original versions. Afterwards, our partners understood whom they are dealing with, but now it's too late. These movements have already been formed. The US is responsible for this. It all started due to the US's unwise policy towards Libya and Syria. First they wanted to overthrow Gaddafi, now they are trying to depose al-Assad. We warned them against such policies. Now Islamist movements are being formed, soon they will be fighting against the US.

The lawmaker also notes that he does not understand the US policies. "One cannot imagine something more incompetent than the US policy towards the Middle East. Some say it's a cunning conspiracy, a manageable chaos. I don't think so. Obama is not interested in sending troops to Iraq. We wants the situation in Iraq to be stable. I don't believe that the US is interested in expansion of Islamism in Iraq. If that's the result of a ten-year-long occupation, then what was its purpose? I think the US forgot itself in playing a risky game, deposing one regime after another. What has happened in Ukraine? Under Yanukovych the situation in Ukraine was quite stable. And what is going on now? That is why I don't think that fighting Islamism in Iraq will be easy. The situation in the region is becoming much less stable. The Syrian war is expanding, it is now affecting Iraq. I think this process will continue. I believe it is US policy that is causing tensions in the region," Pushkov said.