American imperialism: seeking to control Syria, seeking regime change in Syria is part of a broader aim of controlling the Middle East, says Joseph Kishore, National Secretary of the Socialist Equality Party.“Turkey has its particular interest in Syria and has a de facto alliance with ISIS. Turkey has been a central force in backing the anti-Assad forces in Syria, many of which, of course, are Islamic fundamentalist organizations,” Kishore told RT.

“While the question of Turkish interests is significant, the real issue here is the US. It has to be said upfront that this action could not have been taken without the prior approval of the Obama administration,” he added.

According to Kishore, “it is clear that the US is preparing to escalate the situation in Syria dramatically; it is seeking to send a shot across the bow against Russia, making clear that the US is prepared to defend its interests in Syria by very provocatively and aggressively escalating the situation there.”

Kishore thinks that “we are talking really not about Turkey and its strategy per se, but about the US, about American imperialism - that is really the driving force here.”

“I don’t think we can accept for a minute the idea that the Turkish government would do this without the support of the US. The question really is: What is the strategy of American imperialism,” he continued.

Kishore said that “they are seeking to control Syria; they are seeking regime change in Syria as part of a broader aim of controlling the Middle East.”

In his opinion, “the whole sort of policy of the US in the region – the so-called ‘war on terror’- is a monumental hypocrisy based on lies.”

“ISIS is a product of American intervention in Syria and is part of the aim of unseating the Assad government. And the idea that they are engaged in a war against ISIS is a monumental fraud,” he added.