Syrian Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo said he was “disturbed” of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s involvement in the Syrian conflict.
The prelate’s statement was in reaction to a statement made by Senator John McCain of Arizona.
«US Senator John McCain protested saying that the Russians are not bombing the positions of the Islamic State, but rather the anti-Assad rebels trained by the CIA. I find these words are disturbing. They represent a blatant admission that behind the war against Assad there is also the CIA.”
In an interview with Fides, Archbishop Hindo said that with Russian forces now engaging jihadist militias, “western propaganda” continues to “talk about moderate rebels who do not exist.”
«There is something very disturbing about all this: there is a superpower that since September 11 protests because the Russians hit the militias of al-Qaeda in Syria. What does it mean? Al-Qaeda is now a US ally, just because in Syria it has a different name? But do they really despise our intelligence and our memory?”, Archbishop Hindo said.
Archbishop Hindo also stressed that it is up to Syrians, not the so-called Islamic State or Western nations to decide if Bashir Al-Assad should go. However, he said that in the current conflict, removing Al-Assad will risk becoming another Libya.
«We have received terrible news from the city of Deir al Zor, which has been besieged by Daesh (Islamic State) for a long time. There is no more food in town, and the population is literally starving. We need to do something immediately, before it is too late».
