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In this wide-ranging interview, Russ Baker talks about the current refugee crisis and how it is tied to several issues that WhoWhatWhy has covered long before the mainstream media caught on. Including that a massive problem was headed Europe’s way from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Baker noted that, just like with many other issues, the media generally covers the symptoms of a crisis but rarely its true origins. In this case, what has led to millions of Syrians fleeing their country? What are the deeper issues in the Middles East that make it such a hotbed for violent conflict? How come US fingerprints are often all over these crises?

“In case after case, from the creation of what later became al-Qaeda, from the creation of what later became ISIS to the creation of what later became this tremendous flow of refugees, we see a policy of self-interest by certain members of American and other western elites and then we see tremendous miscalculation on the part of their allies in the US government,” Baker said.

The resulting disasters result in ordinary citizens having to pay for various wars (actual ones as well ideological ones, such as the War on Drugs or the War on Terror), both with coin and their individual liberties.

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Related front page panorama photo credit: Mohamed Atta (Floridian DMV / Wikimedia), Ziad Jarrah (Floridian DMV / Wikimedia). Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (NASA / Wikimedia), Asma is one of thousands of Syrian refugee children missioned out on education in exile. (Shawn Baldwin / UNHCR)

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