Syria President Bashar Assad warns against foreign invasion
Syria President Bashar Assad warns against foreign invasion
He says an invasion by the West would lead to a global catastrophe. Meanwhile, opposition factions struggle to form a coalition and the Red Cross says the crisis is growing too fast.
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"We are the last stronghold
of secularity and stability in the region. And coexistence, let’s say,"
Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Russia's RT televsion channel.
(RT Television / November 8, 2012)
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BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad
predicted a global catastrophe should the West invade his country, and
representatives of Syria's notoriously divided opposition struggled
Thursday to form a united government in exile against Assad's
beleaguered rule.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, meanwhile, said it could no longer cope with the fast-expanding humanitarian crisis in Syria, where a raging civil conflict has left millions in need of shelter, medical aid, food and other necessities.
In an interview with the Russian RT television channel, Assad sketched an apocalyptic scenario should the West mount an invasion of Syria, where foreign-backed armed rebels are fighting to depose him.
"I think the price of this invasion, if it happens, is … too big," Assad said in English in one of his infrequent recent interviews. "More than the whole world can afford.... We are the last stronghold of secularity and stability in the region. And coexistence, let's say. It will have a domino effect … from the Atlantic to the Pacific."
The Syrian president, whose family has ruled the country for 40 years, has frequently depicted his government as stoutly manning the ramparts of stability in a volatile region beset by religious, ethnic and political divides. He has previously warned that his government would not fall without igniting a regional conflagration.
Assad said he believed an invasion of his country was unlikely, but he emphasized that in the event of such an attack "nobody can tell what's next."
Most independent experts agree that the United States and other foreign powers supporting the Syrian opposition are extremely unlikely to deploy troops to Syria. The opposition itself has rejected the notion of a foreign invasion and instead has called on the U.S. and other nations to provide the rebels with advanced weaponry and air support.
The Obama administration and its allies have been hesitant to hand over weapons like shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles to a rebel force that lacks a central command and includes Islamic militants and Al Qaeda sympathizers.
Assad also repeated previous assertions that he has no intention of leaving Syria despite demands from Washington and elsewhere that he relinquish power.
"I am Syrian. I'm made in Syria," Assad said in the interview, excerpts of which appeared Thursday on RT's website. "I have to live in Syria and die in Syria."
This week, British Prime Minister David Cameron told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television that Assad's exit from Syria "could be arranged." The implication was that, in the name of what Cameron called a "safe transition," Assad could be allowed to flee to another country where he could escape prosecution for war crimes or other possible offenses.
But the Syrian president shrugged off talk of his departure even as the almost 20-month rebellion grinds on with no sign that the killing will cease or that the diplomatic impasse over Syria will break. Opposition groups say more than 30,000 people have died.
"I am not a puppet," Assad said, according to RT's partial transcript. "I was not made by the West to go to the West or to any other country."
Meanwhile, in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, disparate elements of the Syrian opposition were struggling to form a coalition that could serve as a kind of government in exile and facilitate aid from allies in the West and the Arab world. New disagreements have reportedly emerged in five days of talks behind closed doors in Doha, the Qatari capital.
Opponents of Assad have bickered for months about fundamental issues such as whether armed insurrection was the correct path, the role of religion in a new Syria and future representation of the nation's many minorities, including Christians, Kurds and Alawites, the Muslim sect that includes Assad and his top security chiefs. Bringing the highly diverse opposition under a single umbrella group has proved difficult, though participants in the Doha meeting expressed confidence that a unified body will emerge this week.
"I'm sure we shall find the best solution to create a leadership that can face its challenges and do the best for the Syrians in these difficult times," a leading dissident, Riad Seif, told reporters. "We'd like to come to a real agreement in which everybody is satisfied and then to work later as one team to do all our best for the Syrian revolution, to get rid of this terrible regime."
Late last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the fractious opposition that it was time to put their house in order.
"There needs to be an opposition leadership structure that is dedicated to representing and protecting all Syrians," Clinton said. "It is not a secret that many inside Syria are worried about what comes next. They have no love lost for the Assad regime, but they worry, rightly so, about the future."
A Syrian government spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, in a statement carried by the state news service, condemned the opposition session in Qatar as "the spearhead in shedding the blood of the Syrian people."
In Syria, the violence continues unabated. Opposition activists have reported as many as 150 deaths a day, mostly attributed to government shelling and airstrikes. But casualties have also resulted from opposition attacks, including car bombs and mortar strikes.
In Geneva, Peter Maurer, president of International Committee of the Red Cross, said the humanitarian scenario is deteriorating as winter approaches. Aid agencies estimate that as many as 1.5 million Syrians have been made homeless in the country, and an additional 500,000 have fled Syria.
"The humanitarian situation is getting worse despite the scope of the operation increasing," Maurer told reporters. "We can't cope with the worsening of the situation."
patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com
end quote from:
I think the "Foreign Invasion" has already occurred and will continue to increase financed by all nations and individuals who have had enough of a leader like Assad who is continuing to Genocide his people (especially Sunni Muslims). I don't think there will be an end to this until he is gone at this point. No matter how bad this gets this is likely true from now on. The real problem will be: "How many middle east nations will be directly or indirectly drawn into the fighting in their own territories?" This might be a more significant question.
My other concern is that Syria might try to fight with Israel to deflect attention from themselves. But, I think most middle eastern governments are too wise to buy into that. And I think Israel too is too wise to fall into that trap other than to crush any Syrian forces coming into Israel proper.
Besides, NATO likely would take out Assad at this point if he attacked Israel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, meanwhile, said it could no longer cope with the fast-expanding humanitarian crisis in Syria, where a raging civil conflict has left millions in need of shelter, medical aid, food and other necessities.
In an interview with the Russian RT television channel, Assad sketched an apocalyptic scenario should the West mount an invasion of Syria, where foreign-backed armed rebels are fighting to depose him.
"I think the price of this invasion, if it happens, is … too big," Assad said in English in one of his infrequent recent interviews. "More than the whole world can afford.... We are the last stronghold of secularity and stability in the region. And coexistence, let's say. It will have a domino effect … from the Atlantic to the Pacific."
The Syrian president, whose family has ruled the country for 40 years, has frequently depicted his government as stoutly manning the ramparts of stability in a volatile region beset by religious, ethnic and political divides. He has previously warned that his government would not fall without igniting a regional conflagration.
Assad said he believed an invasion of his country was unlikely, but he emphasized that in the event of such an attack "nobody can tell what's next."
Most independent experts agree that the United States and other foreign powers supporting the Syrian opposition are extremely unlikely to deploy troops to Syria. The opposition itself has rejected the notion of a foreign invasion and instead has called on the U.S. and other nations to provide the rebels with advanced weaponry and air support.
The Obama administration and its allies have been hesitant to hand over weapons like shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles to a rebel force that lacks a central command and includes Islamic militants and Al Qaeda sympathizers.
Assad also repeated previous assertions that he has no intention of leaving Syria despite demands from Washington and elsewhere that he relinquish power.
"I am Syrian. I'm made in Syria," Assad said in the interview, excerpts of which appeared Thursday on RT's website. "I have to live in Syria and die in Syria."
This week, British Prime Minister David Cameron told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television that Assad's exit from Syria "could be arranged." The implication was that, in the name of what Cameron called a "safe transition," Assad could be allowed to flee to another country where he could escape prosecution for war crimes or other possible offenses.
But the Syrian president shrugged off talk of his departure even as the almost 20-month rebellion grinds on with no sign that the killing will cease or that the diplomatic impasse over Syria will break. Opposition groups say more than 30,000 people have died.
"I am not a puppet," Assad said, according to RT's partial transcript. "I was not made by the West to go to the West or to any other country."
Meanwhile, in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, disparate elements of the Syrian opposition were struggling to form a coalition that could serve as a kind of government in exile and facilitate aid from allies in the West and the Arab world. New disagreements have reportedly emerged in five days of talks behind closed doors in Doha, the Qatari capital.
Opponents of Assad have bickered for months about fundamental issues such as whether armed insurrection was the correct path, the role of religion in a new Syria and future representation of the nation's many minorities, including Christians, Kurds and Alawites, the Muslim sect that includes Assad and his top security chiefs. Bringing the highly diverse opposition under a single umbrella group has proved difficult, though participants in the Doha meeting expressed confidence that a unified body will emerge this week.
"I'm sure we shall find the best solution to create a leadership that can face its challenges and do the best for the Syrians in these difficult times," a leading dissident, Riad Seif, told reporters. "We'd like to come to a real agreement in which everybody is satisfied and then to work later as one team to do all our best for the Syrian revolution, to get rid of this terrible regime."
Late last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the fractious opposition that it was time to put their house in order.
"There needs to be an opposition leadership structure that is dedicated to representing and protecting all Syrians," Clinton said. "It is not a secret that many inside Syria are worried about what comes next. They have no love lost for the Assad regime, but they worry, rightly so, about the future."
A Syrian government spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, in a statement carried by the state news service, condemned the opposition session in Qatar as "the spearhead in shedding the blood of the Syrian people."
In Syria, the violence continues unabated. Opposition activists have reported as many as 150 deaths a day, mostly attributed to government shelling and airstrikes. But casualties have also resulted from opposition attacks, including car bombs and mortar strikes.
In Geneva, Peter Maurer, president of International Committee of the Red Cross, said the humanitarian scenario is deteriorating as winter approaches. Aid agencies estimate that as many as 1.5 million Syrians have been made homeless in the country, and an additional 500,000 have fled Syria.
"The humanitarian situation is getting worse despite the scope of the operation increasing," Maurer told reporters. "We can't cope with the worsening of the situation."
patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com
end quote from:
I think the "Foreign Invasion" has already occurred and will continue to increase financed by all nations and individuals who have had enough of a leader like Assad who is continuing to Genocide his people (especially Sunni Muslims). I don't think there will be an end to this until he is gone at this point. No matter how bad this gets this is likely true from now on. The real problem will be: "How many middle east nations will be directly or indirectly drawn into the fighting in their own territories?" This might be a more significant question.
My other concern is that Syria might try to fight with Israel to deflect attention from themselves. But, I think most middle eastern governments are too wise to buy into that. And I think Israel too is too wise to fall into that trap other than to crush any Syrian forces coming into Israel proper.
Besides, NATO likely would take out Assad at this point if he attacked Israel.
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