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Assad: ‘I’m not attacking people, I’m defending them’
SwissInfo ^ | Oct 20, 2016

Posted on 10/20/2016 6:20:09 AM PDT by NCjim

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad told Swiss public television, SRF, that fighting ‘terrorists’ in Aleppo was the only way of ‘protecting civilians’. He denied government forces bombed hospitals indiscriminately and dismissed allegations of the army’s use of chemical weapons.

“According to the constitution, according to the law, we have to protect people, we have to get rid of those terrorists from Aleppo. This is where we can protect the civilians,” Assad told SRF in the interview broadcast on Wednesday.

"How can you protect them while they are under the control of terrorists? They've been killed by them, and they've been controlled fully by the terrorists. Is it our role to sit aside and watch, if that's how we can protect the Syrian people? We need to attack the terrorists, that's self-evident."

The Syrian military said on Thursday that a unilateral ceasefire backed by Russia had come into force to allow people to leave besieged eastern Aleppo. It’s a move that the rebels have said was part of a psychological campaign to get them to surrender. Intensified Russian and Syrian bombing of besieged rebel-held parts of Aleppo in the last few weeks has hit hospitals, bakeries and water pumping stations, and killed hundreds of civilians.

(Excerpt) Read more at swissinfo.ch ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
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1 posted on 10/20/2016 6:20:09 AM PDT by NCjim
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To: NCjim

I’m sorry, but I have to ask.

Is the collective intelligence on FreeRepublic
PRO - Assad
CON - Assad
?

For me, CDY...I’m all for propping up Assad.
It IS the Middle-East, after all.


2 posted on 10/20/2016 6:24:52 AM PDT by Cletus.D.Yokel (Catastrophic, Anthropogenic Climate Alterations: The acronym explains the science.)
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To: NCjim

Nope, not attacking them at all. Just standing here minding my own business, then for some reason, they hit me in the fist with their jaw. But attack them? Not me.


3 posted on 10/20/2016 6:25:07 AM PDT by wbill
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To: wbill

If you were in Syria, you would do ANYTHING to be behind Assad’s line.

It’s the only thing left that resembles civilization.


4 posted on 10/20/2016 6:27:46 AM PDT by The Toll
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To: NCjim
fighting ‘terrorists’ in Aleppo was the only way of ‘protecting civilians’

Except for the Syrian military....THEY'RE ALL CIVILIANS!

5 posted on 10/20/2016 6:28:46 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (RATs, RINOs......same thing.)
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel
Is the collective intelligence on FreeRepublic
PRO - Assad

CON - Assad

Left to himself, he is a thug, when challenged he becomes a brutal and murderous dictator, but is STILL better than the other options on the table. There is no Saladin available here. Assad also doesn't go out of his way to make trouble for Christians (i.e. torturing, raping and killing them), unlike ALL the other groups.

6 posted on 10/20/2016 6:29:45 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics.)
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To: NCjim

Turkey, Qatar, and the State Department launched this war to replace Assad with Muslim Brotherhood. They recruited jihadis from around the world to do the dirty work. Their proxies are committing genocide and wiping out the Christians of the region.

They have destroyed the country. They have killed more people than died in the Iraq war, and it isn’t over yet. They are leveraging the destruction to send a wave of “refugees” to occupy Europe... millions of them.

They could end this war tomorrow. They chose this war, created this war, they want this war, but they could end it tomorrow. If they cared about the “children of Aleppo” they could end it tomorrow.


7 posted on 10/20/2016 6:31:50 AM PDT by marron
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel

Excellent question. You have to ask yourself, why all of the attention on Assad and why now? Assad is a secular leader in a predominantly Moslem environment. He has kept the peace in his nation for the vast majority of his tenure. But until BHO and HRC started their shite in the ME, no one paid any attention to him.

Egypt nearly falls to the Moslem Brotherhood, Libya does fall, Tunisia has seen an increase in MB affiliated groups as well as several other North African states. But Syria? What benefit would Assad have of attacking his own people? Were Assad to fall, who would fill the void?

IMHO BHO and HRC would see fruition to their plan to have the MB take over Syria and subsequently provide a safe haven for those that seek the destruction of Israel.


8 posted on 10/20/2016 6:32:57 AM PDT by rjsimmon (The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel

If we were going to take down Iran, it would make sense to take down Assad as a first step. It makes no sense to take him down if you are going to give Iran a nuke, and make no mistake, our treaty with Iran shelters, defends, and pays for their nuclear program.

So not only is this war a disaster, its a disaster with a completely incoherent purpose.

And as it turns out we have triggered genocide. We had every reason and every right to tell our partners and our proxies that a condition of our help is that the Christians of the region be protected and defended. As it is, once the genocide became common knowledge, Americans could not and would not support Obama’s policy.


9 posted on 10/20/2016 6:38:00 AM PDT by marron
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To: rjsimmon

Hillary(!) said Syria is “a hotbed of terrorism”. And remember, “America is great because we are good”. [projectile vomit]


10 posted on 10/20/2016 6:39:47 AM PDT by Dalberg-Acton
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To: NCjim

Just like the Shah of Iran, Soddom Hussein, Kadoffy, Mubarak, Asshead was performing the function of beating down the manical murdering moslems.

Now, “somebody” is going to have to simply blow them all up. One major city at a time.


11 posted on 10/20/2016 6:40:06 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (RATs, RINOs......same thing.)
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To: NCjim

Sounds like Chicagos Mayor Daley in 1968.
“The policeman isn’t there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.”


12 posted on 10/20/2016 6:40:08 AM PDT by Sasparilla (Hillary for Prison 2016)
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel

My opinion, Syria isn’t work one American body bag.


13 posted on 10/20/2016 6:42:07 AM PDT by McGruff (Time for a Tea Party II)
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To: rjsimmon; Dr. Sivana

I guess that my root question is:

Does the USA oppose Assad simply because The RussianBear is supporting Assad? Does this not mean that the USA will contermand activities in Syria simply based on ideology?

Putin says, “Yes”. USA says “NO” (queue the Beatles, please..)

Assad defends his people against ISxx-whomever, we can’t find a liberty agreement while searching for the “hole-in-our-ass” with both hands.

Really, do we (USA) oppose Assad simply because Putin supports him? That is bad ju-ju my friends, just bad ju-ju.


14 posted on 10/20/2016 6:44:50 AM PDT by Cletus.D.Yokel (Catastrophic, Anthropogenic Climate Alterations: The acronym explains the science.)
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To: NCjim

We had NO BUSINESS telling Syria they should depose their ruler

The sole intent was to let the muslim brotherhood take over like they did in Egypt, Libya, et al...

“The Arab Spring” was their cutesy name for the muslim brotherhood takeover of the middle east


15 posted on 10/20/2016 6:45:47 AM PDT by Mr. K (Trump is running against EVERYONE. The Democrats, The Media, and the establishment GOP)
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To: NCjim

The average Syrian is fine with Assad. He’s a strong man leader but secular. And you can deal with the guy. A combo of stick and carrot and some Russian cooperation and we could likely get him to stop the terrorist stuff. With the rebels you are going to get ISIS lite. Or mullahs.


16 posted on 10/20/2016 7:05:01 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: NCjim

Assad is a strongman. Arab countries require them for order and to suppress the neck cutters. Take a look at the Syrian cities under full govt control and those in terror hands. Which would you want to live in?


17 posted on 10/20/2016 7:06:27 AM PDT by lurk (TEat)
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To: Mr. K

Its kind of suspicious that Huma Abedin’s mother and father both have close ties to the MB. Also mysterious that Valarie Jarrett (Obama’s brain) is Iranian.


18 posted on 10/20/2016 7:08:45 AM PDT by oncebitten (This multidirectional comb-over is so complex that even engineers marvel at its structure.)
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To: oncebitten

You are probably more Iranian than VJ. Her parents were very high-profile Chicagoans, Dr. James Bowman (born in DC), and Barbara (Taylor) Bowman (born in Chicago).


19 posted on 10/20/2016 7:16:17 AM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: NCjim
I guess I'm pro-Assad. We already took out Saddam in Iraq and that situation went nowhere. Sure, Assad is a brutal mideast dictator (aren't they all?), but the people he oppresses are a bunch of jihadist fanatics; so I'd go with Assad over the rabble.

I guess it's like Russia under the Tsar. That was bad, but the communists who overthrew the Tsar made it far, far worse.

20 posted on 10/20/2016 7:47:08 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte (Time to get the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US.)
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