Moscow
is pushing back against harsh criticism by C.I.A. Director John
Brennan, who told PBS in an interview this Tuesday that Russia has
pursued a “scorched-earth policy” in Syria, leading to “devastation and
thousands upon thousands of innocent deaths.” According to the head of
the C.I.A., “that’s not something that the United States would ever do
in any of these military conflicts.”
is pushing back against harsh criticism by C.I.A. Director John
Brennan, who told PBS in an interview this Tuesday that Russia has
pursued a “scorched-earth policy” in Syria, leading to “devastation and
thousands upon thousands of innocent deaths.” According to the head of
the C.I.A., “that’s not something that the United States would ever do
in any of these military conflicts.”
Igor
Konashenkov, the spokesperson for Russia’s Defense Ministry, told the
news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday that the U.S.-led international
military coalition that’s been operating in Syria since 2012 has
“methodically destroyed Syria’s infrastructure in order to maximize the
weakening of the country’s legitimate government, despite the threat to
the civilian population.”
Konashenkov, the spokesperson for Russia’s Defense Ministry, told the
news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday that the U.S.-led international
military coalition that’s been operating in Syria since 2012 has
“methodically destroyed Syria’s infrastructure in order to maximize the
weakening of the country’s legitimate government, despite the threat to
the civilian population.”
Konashenkov
also accused the United States of failing to attack oil-production
facilities controlled by the Islamic State, banned in Russia as a
terrorist organization, which allowed the group to earn tens of millions
of dollars on illicit oil sales, and thereby recruit mercenaries from
around the world, Moscow says.
also accused the United States of failing to attack oil-production
facilities controlled by the Islamic State, banned in Russia as a
terrorist organization, which allowed the group to earn tens of millions
of dollars on illicit oil sales, and thereby recruit mercenaries from
around the world, Moscow says.
“Sooner
or later, they’ll have to answer for all this,” Konashenkov warned. “So
this attempt by Brennan with these statements to ‘soften the blow’ of
what’s to come is unlikely to save them. John Brennan knows perfectly
well what the real results of Russia’s actions in Syria are. The Defense
Ministry presented them in a year-end collegium for the C.I.A. and
other intelligence agencies.”
or later, they’ll have to answer for all this,” Konashenkov warned. “So
this attempt by Brennan with these statements to ‘soften the blow’ of
what’s to come is unlikely to save them. John Brennan knows perfectly
well what the real results of Russia’s actions in Syria are. The Defense
Ministry presented them in a year-end collegium for the C.I.A. and
other intelligence agencies.”
The
biggest result of Russia’s military intervention in Syria, the Kremlin
says, is the joint agreement recently reached with Turkey and Iran about
a ceasefire and peace talks between the Assad regime and Syrian
opposition forces.
biggest result of Russia’s military intervention in Syria, the Kremlin
says, is the joint agreement recently reached with Turkey and Iran about
a ceasefire and peace talks between the Assad regime and Syrian
opposition forces.
For
good measure, Konashenkov also reminded Washington that the U.S. Air
Force dropped nuclear bombs on Japan in the Second World War, attacked
Laos and Vietnam with chemical weapons in the 1960s and 1970s, and
“unleashed wars” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Yugoslavia “thanks to
false intelligence” from the C.I.A., ruining these countries’
infrastructures. The Defense Ministry spokesman then accused the
Pentagon and C.I.A. of corruptly hiring insider firms to manage
rebuilding efforts in places devastated by the U.S. military.
