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[Music]

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today I'm in the Parliamentary office of

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George Galloway MP who around three

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months ago won a surprise election

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victory in his constituency of Bradford

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West George Galloway thanks very much

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for talking to us today now your uh

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election your Victory uh was a surprise

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to many possibly not to you uh what does

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it take to break a monopoly of these

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three ruling parties to win an election

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in British politics it's uh an Everest

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of a a challenge because first of all

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the big parties command almost all of

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the media attention and the media is the

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medium through which most people get

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their political ideas and news and

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secondly because you usually lack a

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critical credibility Factor people are

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doubtful that they would be doing other

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than throwing their vote Away by voting

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for a candidate who may be closer to

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their uh cup of tea but uh are unlikely

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to win it and therefore the voter is in

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a way taking a self-denying ordinance in

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the choosing of the MP but if you have

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this critical mass

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of derision I mean I don't think that's

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too strong a word the derision felt in

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the country against the three uh

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mainstream parties as I often say if a

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backside could have three cheeks

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these three parties are those three

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cheeks the three mainstream parties are

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such that you couldn't slip a cigarette

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paper between them they all accept that

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austerity is the medicine some quibble

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about the dosage and the uh the um

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timetable of the taking of the medicine

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but they all accept that the mass of the

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people must pay the price for the crimes

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and the mistakes of rich and powerful

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people secondly all of them support

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Britain's role in going around the world

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invading other people's countries

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occupying them and expending billions in

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some cases hundreds of billions of hard

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earned money that the people have

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sweated for on uh on weapons and War uh

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and so if you can come along and say we

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don't believe the ordinary people should

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pay the price for this crisis and we

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don't believe should be occupying other

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people's countries first in the ranks of

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those pushing for a new Invasion a new

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occupation as Mr heg is doing over Syria

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for example at the moment we just reject

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that we we our Paradigm is completely

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different and it's like in the uh

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wonderful film Dead Poet Society when

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the teacher invites the children to

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stand on the desk and see how different

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everything looks once you get people

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standing up on those desks they can see

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the ACT actually the world looks very

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different from up there and do you think

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that there's a wider disconnect between

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politics and the electorate the people

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yes the people hold the mainstream

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politicians in contempt uh they know

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that the mainstream politicians hundreds

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of them many hundreds of them almost all

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of them were uh looting the people's

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pockets in uh in parliamentary expenses

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which was a huge

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Scandal uh we have actually systemic

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failure in Britain the media is on trial

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the bankers are on trial the politicians

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have been put on trial and found guilty

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long ago

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so I who was Untouched by the expenses

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Scandal didn't claim any expenses at all

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uh and who have a has a track record of

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attacking the uh Mogul billionaire Mogul

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ownership of the media and is seen as an

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anti-political voice in the sense of

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being anti- the political system Bingo

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we won uh we won the jackpot you've said

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in the past that uh Muslims like you

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because you protect them from

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islamophobia um we recently heard the

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director of MI5 say that Al-Qaeda is

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using Arab Spring Nations to uh recruit

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terrorists and potentially Target

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Britain um is there a point to

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islamophobia therefore do do people have

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uh are there people justified in their

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fear of Islam if you like no like any

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phobia uh it is irrational uh

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exaggerated and paranoid uh but that's

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not to say that Islamic extremism does

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not exist of course it exists and it

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exists in Britain and it gets more and

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more uh

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oxygen uh as a result of the policies

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that the British government follows you

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can't make endless war against Muslims

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and Muslim countries abroad and expect

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to have no resonance here at home

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but actually we are the antidote to

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islamist extremism because we say to the

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young Muslims you are right to be angry

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but be angry with others who are not

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Muslims in Democratic politics uh so

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that you can affect change rather than

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blowing yourself and other people up and

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in these kind of terrible acts of uh

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self ulation that uh we saw on 77 5

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years ago here almost uh to the day uh

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so uh the truth is Al-Qaeda exists it

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was invented by the countries now most

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concerned about it it was invented on

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the principle bankrupt moral principle

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that my enemy's enemy is my friend the

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Soviet Union was the enemy of the West

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so they gave weapons and money and

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credibility to an islamist fanatic

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formation and uh they didn't read the

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novel Frankenstein to the end if they

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had they would have known that when you

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make a monster It ultimately breaks free

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of your control so they've no one to

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blame but themselves for this phenomenon

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of islamist extremism it comes out of a

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swamp of hatred sown by Western

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countries in their policies towards the

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Muslim countries therefore the best way

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to solve this problem is to drain this

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swamp of hatred and bitterness by doing

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the reverse of what we did to fill it um

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there is a a rise in islamist political

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parties there isn't there um

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particularly in Arab Spring Nations uh

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in the Middle East and North Africa what

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challenges do you think that poses for

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Syria at the moment well a very large

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number of people in Syria whether a

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majority or not I don't know uh are

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terrified of the prospects of Victory uh

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for the uh Syrian

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rebels because there's a substantial

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Christian population in Syria for

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example which has the most honored

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position of any Christian group anywhere

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in the the Middle East including Israel

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by the way uh there are uh minority

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Islamic sects which are substantial in

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number but a minority in the state as a

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whole there are different ethnic groups

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Kurdish people for example are terrified

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of the victory of a

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jihadist extremist Islamic uh Victory so

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that's undoubtedly one of the reasons

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why the Syrian government is still

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holding on in the the teeth of what is a

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thoroughgoing and massive International

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conspiracy against them not because

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they're a dictatorship because the West

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likes dictatorships in the Arab world

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Saudi Arabia is the grimmest

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dictatorship of them all and is the best

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friend of the West not because it's a

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one family rule because of course all

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these Arab dictatorships are one family

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Rule and in Saudi Arabia the family is

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even given its name to the country even

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Kim Jong-il didn't do that uh so it's

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not because of of dislike of

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dictatorship no it's because the Syrian

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regime refuses to follow Western orders

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and has always refused to follow Western

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orders that's why they want to bring

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them down there are mixed signals though

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aren't there from Assad he he seems to

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suggest that he will step down then he

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won't what what do you think will happen

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there as far as I know he has no

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intention of stepping down uh there are

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people who fly kites in the western

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media Russia's about to change its

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position China's about to change its

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position Assad's about to get on a this

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is I think largely disinformation but

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undoubtedly the Syrian regime has a

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massive uh problem it has uh

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Democratic uh deficit in its country it

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is a dictatorship the era of

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dictatorship must be coming to an end in

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the Arab world and should come to an end

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should have long ago come to an end uh

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but uh there are many uh dictatorships

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in the Arab world who are not being

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targeted by this International

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conspiracy indeed are a a vital

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component part of the conspiracy Mrs

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Clinton declared the friends of

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democratic Syria but within 3 days even

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she had realized the risibility of that

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moniker because its core included Saudi

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Arabia and Qatar where there is no

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democracy of any kind whatsoever you

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mentioned these ethnic groups that are

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jostling for position in Syria do you

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predict a fullscale slide into Civil War

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and if so do you think that Britain will

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be gunning to get involved well I think

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there already is a civil war in Syria uh

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the massacres that are uh taking place

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are almost entirely demarcated by

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sectarian division uh the uh if you like

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the uh dichotomy that exists in the

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country is not just between those who

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are with the regime or against the

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regime though that exists uh but between

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different uh ethnic and confessional

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groups and that's a powder keg uh if if

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ever you wanted to find one that's why I

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say to I said last night to a British

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foreign office Minister what are you

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doing in Syria have you any idea of the

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virtual nuclear explosion uh in a

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critical area that you are helping to

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bring about did you learn nothing from

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Afghanistan did you learn nothing from

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flying Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan to

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fight the Red Army uh this is even more

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dangerous because it has of course

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Frontier with uh with Israel it's uh on

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the shores of the Mediterranean so close

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to Europe itself and uh it is part of if

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you wanted to draw it that way an arc

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involving Iran Iraq with its big Shia

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majority uh the Syrian uh government and

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the people who support it and of course

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the Shiite uh National resistance

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movement in Lebanon Hezbollah that's a

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very powerful Arc uh with a lot of fire

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power and one of the characteristics of

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shiism which the foreign office Minister

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that I talked to last night appeared

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oblivious to was that Shiites are quite

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ready to fight to the death and what

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role do you think Iran should play in

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bringing peace to Syria well Iran is a

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critical component in the region as a

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whole it's critical in Iraq it could end

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in an afternoon the all remaining traces

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of Western occupation of Iraq in an

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afternoon if they gave the word to do so

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and of course you cannot talk about the

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future of the region without bringing

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Iran into it and Russia and cof Anan are

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both correct in saying that Iran is

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indispensable in any solution to this

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this uh the only possible solution is

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the cofan plan which is supported by

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everybody in the world except the people

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whose plan it ostensibly is the United

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Nations is supporting it as the Rope

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supports the hanging man the Arab League

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the appointed cofan in the first place

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is busily supplying weapons to the

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rebels to undo it but any sensible

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person in the world wants the plan to

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succeed and the plan is to by dialogue

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and transition in dictatorship in Syria

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uh without having to spill an ocean of

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blood in order to do it and uh

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destabilize the region and therefore the

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world George Galloway thank you very

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much thank

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[Music]

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you