(InTheNationalInterest) Nir Boms and Erick Stakelbeck - A new profile of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared to emerge from the Nov. 30 New York Times interview: Assad is a man of peace, more than willing to negotiate with Israel immediately and "without any Syrian conditions." Moreover, he expressed a desire to form closer ties with the U.S., with whom Syria shares "many common interests." Yet outside the pristine offices of the Times, Assad's rhetoric appears slightly less forthcoming. On October 15, Assad told the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat, "With this Israeli government in power, there will be no peace," and added, "the U.S. is in disagreement with countries in the world, and we are one of these countries."
2003-12-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive