US Distorts Assad’s Comments, Syria Responds

Thursday, 8 December 2011

US Distorts Assad’s Comments, Syria Responds

Shortly after Syrian President Bashar Assad’s interview, the US administration swiftly distorted his stances and mocked them as part of a US strategy to undermine Assad’s rule and image.
State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said Wednesday that Assad was “disconnected from reality” or “crazy” reiterating the US statement that Assad has lost legitimacy and should step down.

Toner said Assad’s claim “either says that he’s completely lost any power that he had within Syria -- that he’s simply a tool -- or that he’s completely disconnected with reality.” “I find it ludicrous that he is attempting to hide behind some sort of shell game but also some sort of claim that he doesn't exercise authority in his own country”.

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi regretted the US reaction to Assad’s stances: “We regret and express our astonishment at the remarks by US State Department spokesperson, who mocked the comments made by President Assad by distorting them.”

He told a news conference that Assad had not been seeking to shirk his responsibilities as head of state by telling the interviewer that Syrian security forces did not belong to him personally.

Makdisi clarified that Assad wanted to correct the form of the question raised by ABC's Barbara Walters, who asked him whether “His forces….”, -with a possessive 'his', then President al-Assad said ‘not My forces’ and continued that there were forces in Syria whose constitutional task is to protect security and stability in the country.

“There were mistakes committed, to which all are accountable for in accordance with judicial mechanism and an ad hoc committee to investigate and punish as long as there were evidence,” Makdisi quoted President Assad as saying in the interview.

In the interview with ABC news, Syria’s President conceded that some members of his armed forces went too far, but assured they were punished for their actions. “Every 'brute reaction' was by an individual, not by an institution, that's what you have to know,” he said.

“There is a difference between having a policy to crackdown and between having some mistakes committed by some officials. There is a big difference,” said Assad. At another point he said, “There was no command to kill or be brutal.”