US Double Standards on Terrorism Denounced

A Russian lecturer has censured the US for its double standards on terrorism, falsely accusing Iran of sponsoring terror while there are reports that US arms routinely fall into the hands of terror outfits operating in Syria and Iraq "by mistake".  

Alexander Vavilov, a professor at the Russian Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy, made the statement in an interview with Russia Today on Monday.

For years, US governments have been calling Iran a supporter of terrorism because it backs anti-Israel groups, and the last time it made such allegations was last week, when the controversial US President Donald Trump vilified Iran as the biggest source of instability in the Middle East.

"From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region," Trump said in Saudi Arabia during his first foreign trip as president.

Vavilov said, "Although Tehran does a lot to stabilize the situation in the region and actively fights terrorism, Washington makes absolutely groundless accusations that the Iranian government supports terrorism."

Vavilov said the US anti-Iran allegations are made at a time when the country itself is providing arms to terrorists, pointing to last week's revelations by Amnesty International that the US Department of Defense had lost track of more than $1 billion worth of arms and other military equipment stored in Kuwait that were supposed to be delivered to the Iraqi Army.

Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf Arab states are believed to be the main sources of funding for Al Qaeda, self-styled Islamic State and other terrorist entities inspired by ultra-extremist Wahhabi ideology professed by the ruling establishment in Saudi Arabia. The US army "did not have accurate, up-to-date records on the quantity and location" of equipment earmarked for the Iraqi Army, according to a government audit dated September 2016, obtained following a Freedom of Information request.

  Empty Talk  

Vavilov said there have been similar reports in the past about  missing arms that end up in the hands of terrorists, and the US was supposed to have learnt the lesson and prevent a repeat of such mistakes.  

"Unfortunately, we can't expect that the American leadership will draw any conclusions. The fact is that the new White House administration continues on the former US course of shaking up the situation in the Middle East, despite the fact it talks about the fight against terrorism."

Vavilov said the huge arms deals signed by Trump in Riyadh could also end up arming terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

"Donald Trump recently signed a $110 billion dollar contract for the supply of weapons to Saudi Arabia, but there are no guarantees that these weapons will remain with the Saudis."