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Press TV has interviewed Stephen Lendman, an author and radio host based in Chicago, to ask for his views about Russia’s stance on fighting ISIL.

Press TV: Let’s talk about Russia’s recent comments, stating that the international community should unite in fighting the ISIL, and it has also put a big question mark over the effectiveness of what United States is doing with its so-called coalition and its campaign against the ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

Lendman: Well, I certainly agree with what the Russian, I guess expression for it, ministry has said and I agree with [what] your last guest has to say about what is going on in Iraq and Syria. ISIL, ISIS or call them what you will, is a US creation. Judicial Watch, a US organization, released a 2012 Pentagon report [that] basically said that ISIL is a Washington creation. So the idea of double standards, or uniting against fighting ISIL, simply will not happen. Because ISIL are US foot soldiers on the ground destroying Syria, destroying Iraq and I agree the aim on the one hand is to replace the independent government… well, the government in Iraq is one that America has a lot of influence over, but America wants Iraq Balkanized into a Kurdish north, which looks like very much will happen, a Baghdad center and a Basra south and it wants Syria Balkanized into controllable pieces and again using ISIL forces as foot soldiers. A report is circulating that America possibly may provide air cover for these so-called moderates, which of course are Takfiri terrorists, and if that happens it is a whole new ballgame. Talk about double standards.

Press TV: Well, the Russian foreign ministry did hint at the double standards in fighting the ISIL terrorists. That is pretty much alluding to the inconsistencies that everybody can see with regards to certain western countries in their approach towards the ISIL.

Lendman: Indeed! And Russia knows very well that its foreign ministry and its other officials have complained numerous times about western double-standards, mainly US and Israeli double-standards. Russia does not mention Israel too often, but you can lump Israel in with other countries because there really is a united campaign against peace, against stability, [and] against security. It is for imperial conquest and domination, resource theft, population exploitations, and so on, and this is the agenda. So America will say one thing rhetorically and talk about the war against ISIL forces, and on the other hand support them actively, and train them, arm them, fund them, direct them and this is what has been going on for years in the region, going definitely into the 5th year against Syria. And of course it is going on in Iraq as well and all this… everything that happened, the worst of what is going on was none other than dance.