The US obviously plans to take over Syria’s riches and wealth through privatization – just what they tried to do in Iraq, believes author and historian Gerald Horne, who commented on the latest developments in the country for RT.

The North Carolina-based expert reminds this has been the style of the US foreign politics in the past and believes that is the point now in Syria.

RT: If it turns out chemical weapons are being used in the Syrian conflict now, what effect could this have? The US has said the government using chemical weapons is a red line, but what if the rebels turn out to have used them?

Gerald Horne: If it turns out that rebels committed this act we should not be surprised. After all they’ve become masters of car bombings not least. We should also recall that this is the 10th anniversary of the disastrous US invasion of Iraq. And as we speak bombs are going off in Baghdad, punctuating this disastrous invasion. We should connect the two events just as the Al-Qaeda in Iraq and their allies that are detonating bombs in Baghdad across the border in Syria Al-Nusra flank, which is connected to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, is engaged in car bombings and perhaps chemical weapons bombings as well. 

RT: Do you think France and the UK, who have again recently said they're actively looking at arming the rebels, would be so keen to do it now?

Syria's provisional prime minister Ghassan Hitto speaks during a news conference in Istanbul March 19, 2013 (Reuters / Osman Orsal)

GH: I’m afraid so. France and the UK are withering powers. You’ve just had a story on the EU and how it’s been forced into trying to confiscate bank deposits in Cyprus. This is a direct result of the weakness of the EU and as a result of that weakness France and the UK are heavily dependent upon capital from the Gulf Arabs – the Saudis and the Qataris not least. So it seems to me that when they talk about trying to arm the rebels they are basically dancing to the tune played by the Saudis and the Qataris.

RT: Ghassan Hitto, the man elected to head the Syrian Opposition, has said point black he won't negotiate with President Assad. What does this mean for the chances of peace in Syria?

GH: Well, it’s not a positive sign. That is to say about 70,000 people have perished in the wake of this uprising in Syria. We shouldn’t also be surprised by the fact that this so-called new Prime Minister in Syria has been living in the state of Texas in the US for years. The US obviously has a plan of doing in Syria what they tried to do in Iraq. That is to say oust a leadership and then take over the riches and wealth of that particular country through privatization and all the rest.

RT: Do you really think that’s on the cards?

GH: Certainly it’s on the cards. One doesn’t have to be a close student of history to recognize that this has been a modus vivendi for the US for decades in the past. And certainly that’s what they planned for Syria.

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