Scott Ritter: How Israel Took Over Syria, and Is Now Spying on Washington

[00:00:00] Well, it's so good to have you here, [00:00:01] Scott. Um, now we're going to be moving [00:00:03] on to the subject of things that are [00:00:06] happening in West Asia. Since the [00:00:08] overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in [00:00:11] December, we have seen Israel extend its [00:00:14] influence over Syria. Now, a USbacked [00:00:17] security agreement is on the table, [00:00:19] which would see a demilitarized zone and [00:00:22] a no-fly zone extending from Israeli [00:00:25] from the Israeli border all the way to [00:00:27] Damascus. What have you made of this [00:00:30] deal? And just before you answer that, [00:00:33] we got to consider that Israel just [00:00:34] bombed Damascus a couple of days ago. [00:00:37] >> Israel's bombed more than just Damascus. [00:00:39] Israel continues to strike wherever it [00:00:42] wants to in Syria. The notion that Syria [00:00:45] is a sovereign state is uh is ridiculous [00:00:49] at this at this juncture. Um I mean and [00:00:53] the other I think vote that needs to be [00:00:55] considered is what does Turkey think of [00:00:57] this? Uh you know Turkey has a vested [00:00:59] interest in um the future of Syria and [00:01:04] the Israelis are obviously uh concerned [00:01:07] about this. This is why I think we're [00:01:09] looking at a demilitarized zone to [00:01:10] create a uh a gap between the Israeli [00:01:14] occupied spaces of uh southern Syria and [00:01:18] you know the limits of Turkeykey's um [00:01:20] you know military progress into Syria. [00:01:23] the uh the Israelis fear uh having [00:01:26] Turkey directly on their border because [00:01:30] uh that creates an opportunity for force [00:01:32] on force confrontation that could lead [00:01:35] to direct war between Israel and Turkey, [00:01:37] which is something uh Israel doesn't [00:01:39] want. They recently you had senior [00:01:41] Israelis say that the number one threat [00:01:43] to Israel isn't Iran. Uh it's Turkey. [00:01:47] And so I think that's why the United [00:01:49] States is pushing so hard to get this uh [00:01:51] demilitarized space. [00:01:54] >> Well, it's really interesting to see [00:01:55] what has developed inside of Syria. We [00:01:57] have a former ISIS commander, Ahmed [00:02:01] Shah, or formerly known as Abu Muhammad [00:02:03] Al Gulani have his image and his [00:02:06] reputation and his history as an ISIS [00:02:09] commander completely whitewashed and now [00:02:12] being welcomed with open arms by the [00:02:16] West. Where do you think Syria is going [00:02:19] with this new leadership? [00:02:21] >> Like you, I'm somewhat perplexed as to [00:02:23] what exactly is going on here. Um either [00:02:26] the United States um and other nations [00:02:30] have [00:02:31] basically erased their collective [00:02:33] memories about what ISIS was, what ISIS [00:02:36] is, uh or Galani was in the game the [00:02:41] entire time. And there of course is some [00:02:43] hints uh with uh US intelligence about [00:02:47] um you know giving ISIS space uh in [00:02:51] order to destabilize the Assad regime [00:02:53] that basically the United States sought [00:02:55] to use uh the forces of Islamic [00:02:58] extremism inside Syria to weaken Bashar [00:03:01] al-Assad and now um you know Assad has [00:03:04] fallen and they have to live with the [00:03:06] consequences. Uh but I don't know where [00:03:09] this is going because Gelani is [00:03:11] inherently incompatible with um any [00:03:13] vision the United States has of [00:03:16] normalized society. This is a man you [00:03:19] could put a suit on this guy, you could [00:03:21] put a tie on this guy, but he still [00:03:23] commands uh people who are committing [00:03:25] horrific atrocities against Shia, [00:03:28] against Alawites, against Christians, [00:03:30] and against any Sunni who doesn't uh [00:03:32] agree with their uh limited vision of of [00:03:35] Islam. Um, I I can't see this [00:03:39] relationship lasting. I think what we're [00:03:41] seeing is evidence that Gelani's victory [00:03:44] took everybody by surprise and people [00:03:47] are still trying to come to grips with [00:03:48] how they're they're ultimately going to [00:03:51] uh, you know, to react to this. [00:03:53] >> Absolutely. And I think, you know, for [00:03:55] those who have watched uh, you know, Al [00:03:58] Jalani take over this leadership [00:04:00] position inside of Syria, we watched him [00:04:03] close up all of the resistance camps [00:04:06] inside of Syria, saying that, you know, [00:04:08] we can't get involved with the [00:04:10] resistance against Israel. There have [00:04:12] been a lot of rumors about normalization [00:04:14] with the state of Israel. And of course, [00:04:16] as Israel bombs Syria and takes some of [00:04:20] its land, you know, and destroys the [00:04:25] equipment of the Syrian military, al [00:04:27] Jalani doesn't seem to have any big [00:04:30] responses. What do you say about that? [00:04:32] >> Again, I think this is proof positive [00:04:34] that um Golani's victory even took [00:04:37] Galani by surprise. There doesn't seem [00:04:39] to have been any uh long-term planning, [00:04:42] any uh contingencies in in place. Uh [00:04:46] we're we're seeing a man seeking to [00:04:49] consolidate uh his hold on Damascus and [00:04:52] in his hold on the Syrian countryside. [00:04:55] All the while Turkey is seeking to [00:04:58] figure out what to do with this Golani [00:04:59] victory. I mean, everybody needs to [00:05:01] remember that Golani wasn't Turkeykey's [00:05:03] uh go-to man in Damascus. Turkey [00:05:06] actually had a Syrian government in [00:05:08] exile that it was looking to install. [00:05:11] and Golani uh got in ahead of that game. [00:05:15] Um nobody expected this outcome and as a [00:05:19] result you're you're seeing just uh [00:05:21] people making things up as they go [00:05:23] along. No plan whatsoever on how to [00:05:26] proceed. and even the United States. I [00:05:28] mean, the the imagery of, you know, the [00:05:30] the American admiral who commands [00:05:32] Central Command, whose forces today are [00:05:34] in Syria and Iraq, um allegedly hunting [00:05:37] down ISIS, standing side by side with [00:05:40] Giuliani, shaking his hand, uh just is [00:05:43] is mindboggling to me. [00:05:44] >> Absolutely. And I I want to turn uh to [00:05:46] Iran here. Steve Bannon recently said [00:05:49] his impeccable sources confirmed that [00:05:52] the US and Israel are still pushing for [00:05:55] regime change in Iran. While uh the [00:05:57] Greyzones Max Blumenthal has claimed [00:06:00] that billionaire Bill Aman was [00:06:02] pressuring Charlie Kirk to back such a [00:06:04] project reportedly offering him $150 [00:06:07] million. None of this is in the [00:06:09] mainstream but it echoes the writing on [00:06:11] the wall that we've seen before over uh [00:06:14] regime change operations. Given your [00:06:16] experience exposing false WMD claims in [00:06:18] Iraq and warning about how propaganda [00:06:21] and financial pressure are used to [00:06:23] manufacture consent for war, do you see [00:06:26] credible signs that Washington and Tel [00:06:28] Aviv again are laying the groundwork for [00:06:31] regime change in Iran now under the [00:06:34] Trump administration? Well, I think we [00:06:36] need to understand that um the United [00:06:38] States and Israel have had for some time [00:06:41] now um policies of regime change. Even [00:06:44] when the Obama administration was [00:06:46] negotiating the joint comprehensive plan [00:06:49] of action uh the Iran nuclear deal, uh [00:06:52] their CIA was uh creating an Iran [00:06:55] mission center whose job was to find the [00:06:58] mechanisms necessary to remove uh the [00:07:01] Iranian regime from power. It's been the [00:07:03] goal and objective of every American [00:07:05] presidency since um the Reagan [00:07:08] administration. No American president [00:07:10] ever has thought, "Oh, I can live in [00:07:13] peace and harmony with uh with the the [00:07:16] theocracy in Thrron." Um and I think the [00:07:20] Iranians are fully aware of this. I [00:07:22] mean, u you know, they they make [00:07:24] tactical decisions about the necessity [00:07:26] to negotiate here, negotiate there, [00:07:28] because they're, you know, they're [00:07:30] they're fending off a variety of [00:07:33] threats, sanctions, economic threats, [00:07:35] covert threats, etc. Um, and yes, we I [00:07:39] think Israel and the United States are [00:07:41] looking to create a WMD type uh excuse [00:07:44] for regime change in the form of nuclear [00:07:46] a nuclear weapons program. This is where [00:07:49] I think the wisdom of the Iranians comes [00:07:51] into play. Um, there's many people out [00:07:53] there who are saying that the 12-day war [00:07:56] surprise attack against Iran uh is proof [00:07:59] positive that Iran must seek a nuclear [00:08:01] weapon. I've said from day one that if [00:08:03] Iran does seek a nuclear weapon, that [00:08:05] will be the end of the Iranian regime [00:08:07] because all gloves will come off. And I [00:08:09] think the Iranian government understands [00:08:11] this because we're seeing them uh enter [00:08:15] a new relationship with the [00:08:16] International Atomic Energy Agency even [00:08:18] as everybody acknowledges the IAEA [00:08:21] played a role in facilitating the [00:08:23] Israeli attack. But the Iranians [00:08:25] understand that in order to keep Russia [00:08:28] and China on their side, they must stay [00:08:30] in the nuclear non-prololiferation [00:08:32] treaty. And to stay in the nuclear [00:08:33] non-proliferation treaty, they must have [00:08:35] a relationship with the IAEA. And so [00:08:38] long as Iran takes this tact, it's going [00:08:40] to be very difficult for Israel and the [00:08:42] United States to manufacture an excuse [00:08:44] for a regime change operation, [00:08:46] especially with Iran in possession of [00:08:48] missiles that can inflict [00:08:51] extraordinarily harm on Israel and any [00:08:52] future endeavor of that nature. [00:08:57] >> And we saw when you know Iran when when [00:08:59] Tel Aviv was enduring the attacks by [00:09:01] Iran, they did a lot of damage inside of [00:09:04] Tel Aviv. Uh but unfortunately because [00:09:06] of the Israeli sensor, we don't really [00:09:08] know for sure how much that damage was, [00:09:10] but we do know it was quite bad and cost [00:09:13] them uh millions if not billions of [00:09:16] dollars. Um we have seen reports um of [00:09:20] Israeli agents being accused of planting [00:09:23] surveillance devices on US emergency [00:09:26] vehicles. We have a theme for today's [00:09:28] show which has been Israeli surveillance [00:09:30] tech. Before that, the Trump [00:09:32] administration concluded that Israel [00:09:34] planted cell phone surveillance devices [00:09:37] all around the White House. Uh, what do [00:09:40] you make of the Israeli operation to [00:09:42] surveil and spy on the US? And how [00:09:45] extensive is it? [00:09:49] >> Well, United States has been a top [00:09:51] Israeli espionage target from the very [00:09:53] beginning. We only need to bring up the [00:09:55] name of Jonathan Polar to understand [00:09:57] that Israel has been spying on the [00:10:00] United States since the 1980s and I [00:10:02] would say even prior to that. Um, Israel [00:10:05] is very concerned about the United [00:10:07] States and especially about American [00:10:09] leadership. Uh, they need to understand [00:10:12] what is being said behind closed doors. [00:10:15] They need to uh ensure that America uh [00:10:18] continues to support Israel without any [00:10:21] hesitation. So what they're looking for [00:10:24] by monitoring the communications of the [00:10:26] president and his inner circle is uh an [00:10:30] indication of a weakening of resolve and [00:10:33] then Israel will turn on its influence [00:10:36] system here in the United States to uh [00:10:38] firm up that resolve of using whatever [00:10:40] tactics and techniques the Israelis use, [00:10:43] money, blackmail, you name it. This is [00:10:46] what they do. I'll just say this up [00:10:48] front. Israel is not a friend of the [00:10:49] United States. I wish people would [00:10:51] understand this wholeheartedly. They're [00:10:53] not our friends. They're not our allies. [00:10:55] They use us for their survival. The [00:10:57] Zionist entity in Israel cannot survive [00:11:00] without the full support of the United [00:11:02] States. And so it's the top national [00:11:05] security priority of Israel to ensure [00:11:07] that America continues to support [00:11:09] Israel. And this is why you see them [00:11:12] spying on our president. I'll say that [00:11:13] one more time for the American audience. [00:11:16] Spying on our president, your president. [00:11:19] And um that's that simply can't be [00:11:22] allowed. This is Israel is a hostile [00:11:24] entity to the United States and we need [00:11:25] to recognize that. We also need to [00:11:27] recognize that whatever we're doing with [00:11:29] Israel uh the crimes that Israel are [00:11:31] committing because of us, it impacts our [00:11:34] reputation as well. The world is [00:11:36] recognizing Israel as a genocidal entity [00:11:38] and um the United States is being hit [00:11:41] with that label too because without us [00:11:43] there would be no Israeli genocide in [00:11:45] Gaza today. [00:11:46] >> That's right. And we appreciate you, [00:11:48] Scott, for being here with us today, for [00:11:50] helping us end this amazing show.