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Press TV has conducted an interview with Franklin Lamb, international lawyer, about the escalating rhetoric of war against Syria. 

- Do you find it odd that especially with the situation now that is happening in Syria on the one hand the US and its allies are basically beating the drums of war and talking about the loss of human life and at the same time they have continually not just of course we are talking about the situation in Iran in 1980’s where Saddam used chemical weapons but even as recent as Gaza and with the Israelis and using the phosphorous bombs and other illegal weapons.

Tell me how do you explain what seems to be some may say hypocritical behavior?

- Well I think that is certainly what it is, a hypocritical behavior and the subversion of the principles which in this case the West claims to support humanitarian values, when they have an interest involved it goes out the window.

They've lost enormous credibility and who believes anymore as we did, many of us did in the late 50’s, 60’s and 70’s that somehow we were on a good course.

I don't know if you remember a more dangerous time right now in Washington, I was on a conference call and I can share with you some statistics that Hagel advised that they've identified 600 targets in Syria, 380 of them just in Damascus.

I spent a lot of time there, I am not sure I can identify ten. There is lots of differences as you know from your studies and experience between Libya and Syria. We have been through a lot of that but one similarity is going to be once that first bomb falls and there is a so-called no-fly zone or any sort of retaliation, then it's going to be out of control.

They're going to target every possible government’s, so-called government installation. They're going to kill a lot of civilians.

What I find interesting is that the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee according to one of its staffers said that there is a fifty percent chance that Obama is going to make that decision to go ahead. Obama is against it. I believe at the moment Hagel is against is, Dempsey is against it, the Zionists and the neocons are for it. The Armed Services Committee chairman says that forty percent chance will go to war and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman is saying fifty percent.

I am not alarmist type I hope and I am no conspiracy theorist but this is incredibly serious and now you have got this morning Lindsey Graham accusing the Iranians and the Russians of provoking America, of challenging us to react. And they are going to argue that look, we got to stand up, we got to be real man in this administration and we got to teach the Iranians and the Russians.

I mean this shows the simple mentality that could lead to war. So I cannot recall a more dangerous situation that we face in the coming five or six days.

- And actually what we were reporting just in the last news section that already the UN investigating team who is on the ground there in Damascus, they came under fire or near them there was a problem.

What about the possible scenario now that they are there, that insurgents may attack them and try to blame Damascus and then basically just bring on the war even sooner and your perspective as far as the possibility that this will go into a war?

- Yes I think that would be very consistent with their behavior and what would be in their political interest to do that, to shift that blame. Whether or not there is any evidence remaining, I am told last night from Washington that there is, even though Hague and the rest are saying well it degrades and this was out-of-date stuff anyhow that is why the symptoms are not typical of nerve agents but I personally think the UN based on what I have been told would find something.

So the opposition, the rebels yes sure, they do not want them in there and they are going to keep them out again we will see, but I am not sure the Americans and their allies, you know I hate the UK is eager for war, Turkey is eager for war, the French will go along and 19, the figure I was given of the 28 members of NATO, 19 out of 28 so far are ready for war.

What Washington is doing this hour is building a coalition of the willing, remember that and this thing takes on, inertia takes on, inertia, and how do you stop it? And one missile in Damascus, what is that going to ignite? We do not know.

So yes I think, but your question about the rebels, yes, I am sure they would not want those inspectors to find the truth because they are pretty competent. These people, they have not shown all their cards, these investigators but I am told in Washington they are very good. They have got FBI technology and all the rest of it, anyhow.