Posted on 02/28/2005 6:33:03 AM PST by anotherview
'We are the key to the solution'
Photo: Reuters
ROME - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published on Monday that he thought the United States might attack his country, but did not believe a strike was imminent.
Assad told Italy's la Repubblica newspaper that Syria wanted stability in the region, and insisted it had no hand in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri on Feb. 14 or in a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on Friday.
Relations between Washington and Damascus, poor for years, have deteriorated further since the killing of Hariri, and the United States has warned it may press for international sanctions against Syria.
"Washington has imposed sanctions on us and isolated us in the past, but each time the circle hasn't closed around us," Assad told la Repubblica.
"If, however, you ask me if I'm expecting an armed attack (from the United States), well I've seen it coming since the end of the war in Iraq. It's from then that tensions have been rising," he added.
Asked if a "settling of scores" was imminent, Assad said: "I don't think so, for now it's just skirmishing. True, the White House language, if looked at in detail, leads one to expect a campaign similar to the one that led up to attack on Iraq."
'We are essential for the peace process'
Rather than viewing Syria as an enemy, Assad said his country was a vital peace partner and force for stability.
"Sooner or later they will realize that we are the key to the solution. We are essential for the peace process, for Iraq. Look, perhaps one day the Americans will come and knock on our door," he was quoted as saying.
The Lebanese opposition has blamed Syria for Hariri's killing and, backed by the United States and former colonial power France, has called for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Assad rejected accusations of involvement in the killing.
"For us it would be like political suicide," he said.
He also indicated Syria would take its time to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. "From a technical viewpoint, the repatriation (of Syrian forces) could happen within the end of the year. But from a strategic viewpoint, it will only happen if we get serious guarantees. In a word, peace," Assad said.
'Syria has nothing to do with it'
Asked about Israeli accusations that Syria was involved in a suicide bombing at a night club in Tel Aviv on Friday that killed five Advertisement
people, Assad said: "It's a pointlessly offensive accusation. Syria has nothing to do with it."
The Syrian president said the United States had made crucial mistakes in its handling of Iraq following the fall of Baghdad and was trying to blame Damascus for its own failings. He denied accusations that Syria was letting insurgents cross into neighbouring Iraq unhindered and said he had offered to set up joint U.S.-Syrian patrols of the border territory.
Washington had yet to reply, he was quoted as saying.
He added that the U.S. reaction to the Sept. 2001 attacks on its cities had not resolved the root causes of the violence.
"Indeed, a few have been aggravated and first amongst these, the question of stability. From Damascus to Jerusalem up to Islamabad and Kabul, there is one long recruitment front for terror," he said.
Asked what his biggest fear was, Assad said: "The thought of this armed America of today which acts like a superpower with no vision."
No. To compare Assad to that weasel is an insult to the weasel.
Bingo, you got it exactly right. Syria is the key to the peace process in the same way that Saddam was the key. They are both locks that needed to be broken.
Assad is still under the delusion that his brand of "stability" is still deemed important. Syria used to cause havoc in Lebanon and close to Israel until they get what they want and then "pacify" the region.
Message to Assad: FREEDOM NOW TRUMPS STABILITY.
Let my people go (Lebanese).
"Assad says U.S. may attack (Syria)"
Bump
No problem. Thanks to those who eMailed me with similar advice. In the future I will be sure to use the sarcasm tags. Thanks again!
ROTFLMAO!!
Please translate, I'm new at this.
Thanks
Rolling on the floor laughing my a$$ off
Thanks.
Imagin Junior actualy recieving a note like that from Rumsfeld, right in the Diplomatic Envoy's Pouch addressed to Junior "Personal & Confidental"
As he opens it and read it, the Envoy is saying to himself, "what is that smell"?
They just might.
rofl - OBL/Bush joke.
They're pi$$ing their pants just thimnking about it!
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