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Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Hunter on the growing food shortage amid the unrest in Syria.
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Now -- to the Middle East War -- Syria is sounding the alarm over growing food shortages.
Red is central to the Syrian diet now 70% of their bread needs are not being that president -- sign is said to be deliberately targeting the food chain.
By bombing bakeries and delivery vans driving up fuel prices with needed now to discuss what this means for the price of eight we should spend.
Is former ambassador to NATO Robert Hunter welcome to the show ambassador hunter we appreciate your time here.
Good to be -- I thought.
A lot of facts were were disturbing and shocking although I guess not more so than anything else that is going on in Syria but it's worth mentioning that the -- -- -- being farm because of shell fire.
There's a lack -- -- fertilizer.
Tanks have deliberately destroyed the irrigation canals in the army stopping workers from getting.
To the -- department so obviously this is extremely deliberate.
Now this is -- a full blown civil war.
Being conducted by the government -- that one of the more brutal regimes that we've seen in the Middle East.
You know over the last thirty or forty years the father of the current president for example.
Cast an entire village and wiped him out about 35 years ago so this individual who people thought might be different.
His showing that is going to fight.
To try to preserve himself and his people no matter how many people slaughtered.
It is a tragedy of immense proportions.
It it's very targeted.
They're going after -- free delivery -- Of course there isn't enough money to deliver -- they have a severe shortage of diesel fuel.
And it to the list sort of goes on what what we do about is -- we can do about this specifically I mean if we don't want to get involved.
In the you know providing weapons is -- something we can do about.
The food situation.
Well the World Food Program in particular has the capacity and if they don't have enough money that can be given money.
-- the United Nations can provide up to appoint a certain amount of protection for the people who go -- -- -- -- of them most important thing however is to take steps.
To show the Assad regime that they're not going to be allowed to continue this forever the first thing I would do.
-- go to NATO can impose a no fly zone so at least they're aircraft are taken out -- -- -- -- if -- wants to go beyond that.
How to use new aircraft against Syrian artillery.
We know how to do that we did it against that is the -- -- backed forces in Bosnia.
Almost two decades ago.
But we have to demonstrate to a -- that he cannot keep this up but at the same time.
It is important to indicate to the minority -- white minority.
It's -- sector she is -- which has been in charge that they aren't going to be slaughtered.
I'll plan has not if it's when I saw it goes and this means we gotta be very clear -- some countries that are close to us like capture.
Like Saudi Arabia yeah that they can't just see -- cynically.
Has a way of getting rid of she regime and posing brutality.
Of -- -- -- fundamentalism.
It sounds like from what you're saying it's not as simple as the UN going in there are trying to get food to hungry people that's not gonna solve the problem because he's going to destroy whatever food comes into the country.
Well if indeed the UN were to pass a resolution.
We're to get people going in on the ground.
With.
That's called peacekeepers -- would exactly be that.
Oddity started targeting and then then that.
Becomes.
A further reason to take greater military action in order to get rid of this guy and get rid of his people but you -- peel off.
A lot of the the -- -- lot of people been running this country who are minority that are worried about their own skins he got a peel them away.
From the ruling class buys indicating -- -- showing them that they aren't gonna become the victims in -- and post civil war retribution we think we haven't even thought about that yet no we haven't even thought about that our ambassador hunter thank you so much for coming on.
Thank you up.
