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Interviewed in the wake of the Brussels attacks, "Al-Rai Al-Youm" editor-in-chief Abdel-Bari Atwan said that "it's only natural that some people will sympathize with [ISIS]" following the coalition's airstrikes and that Western leaders "indirectly encouraged Muslims from Britain, France, Belgium, and Italy to join the ranks of these groups." "Those [British] 'experts' know very little about ISIS," said Atwan, who is former editor-in-chief of "Al-Quds Al-Arabi. "Why didn't they predict the London bombings of 2005 or the attacks in France?" he asked. The interview aired on Russia Today TV on March 23, 2016.
Following are excerpts
Abdel-Bari Atwan: If we look at the phenomenon of terrorism, we find that the Europeans played a major role in creating and nurturing it. The American occupation of Iraq and the dismantling of the Iraqi army and institutions sowed the main seed for...
Interviewer: That was America.
Abdel-Bari Atwan: America and its European allies, Britain and France. The occupation of Iraq, and the dismantling of the Iraqi army, Republican Guard, and state institutions, created a breeding ground for ISIS. We must not deny this. The American and European military intervention in Libya, about which Obama expressed his regret in an interview with The Atlantic, turned Libya into a base for terrorism and for its exportation. Take Syria. Who sent militants into Syria? Who asked the EU to lift the ban on providing arms to the Syrian opposition? It was Cameron and Sarkozy, in particular, and others. That is the problem. Let's be clear and honest about it. Who financed the groups that entered Syria via Turkey? It was the Europeans and their Arab allies.
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Believe me, those [British] "experts" know very little about ISIS, and about the new generations in Europe. What expertise do they have? All of a sudden, we see them on TV providing analysis and commentary. Why didn't they predict these things? Why didn't they predict the London bombings of 2005 or the attacks in France?
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We must deal with the roots of this phenomenon. We must not do things that lead to the creation of such phenomena. The European countries must not intervene militarily in the Middle East. Enough with these military interventions! When you have 10,000 airstrikes over the past 12-14 months, carried out by the 60-member anti-ISIS coalition, it's only natural that some people will sympathize with [ISIS].
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When these groups began to take shape in Syria, the Western leaders did not understand the true nature of these groups, or the extent of their threat. They allowed the transfer of weapons and money, They allowed the transfer of weapons and money, and even indirectly encouraged Muslims from Britain, France, Belgium, and Italy to join the ranks of these groups. At first they did not understand this phenomenon. They purport to be experts, but they have no expertise whatsoever. If they really were experts, they would not have encouraged this hijra to Syria and Iraq. Now they are saying: We must wipe out these groups. How exactly? You are the ones who allowed them to grow and intensify, through your policy of military intervention in Middle Eastern, Arab, and Islamic countries, or through your lack of understanding of this phenomenon from the outset.
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