[30 July 2012] West provoking civil war in Syria Jonathan Steele - English Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 and many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil. The Syrian government says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings. The anti-Syria Western regimes have been calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but Russia and China remain strongly opposed to the Western drive to oust Assad. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on July 28, "Our Western partners... together with some of Syria's neighbors are essentially encouraging, supporting and directing an armed struggle against [the Syrian government]." Press TV has conducted an interview with Jonathan Steele, former foreign editor of the Guardian and the author of Ghosts of Afghanistan, to further talk over the issue. Show Less >>