The Student Room Group

Fox News interviews Assad

A very interesting, hour-long interview of Assad by Dennis Kucinich and Greg Palkot.

Personally, I found Assad to be fairly credible and believable, and a persuasive advocate for his policy.

[video="youtube;sbX29GmuBTM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbX29GmuBTM[/video]
As long as he keeps to the agreement and turns over the chemical weapons he won't be touched. This will go one of either two ways, first is he hands over the chemical weapons at which point they are destroyed, he is able to keep his presidency, his regime stays in power, Islamist are crushed, world is a little safer and the UN gets to feel important. The second is he tries to keep chemical weapons or tries to deceive us in some way and that will most likely end up with an army regiment launching some in a heated moment and in turn that will be the end of his presidency, country, life and probably the lives of his entire family which if lucky will be taken in an American airstrike and if unlucky at the hands of the Islamist groups.

I hope he is as smart as he seems and doesn't screw this opportunity up.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 2
The whole thing is one big joke, the idea that killing people with some weapons is fine but other weapons is not is ridiculous.
Reply 3
Original post by ImNew
The whole thing is one big joke, the idea that killing people with some weapons is fine but other weapons is not is ridiculous.


I'd rather die by a gun to the head than choking on spluttering whilst my lungs are on fire for about 10 minutes.
Reply 4
Original post by Kiss
I'd rather die by a gun to the head than choking on spluttering whilst my lungs are on fire for about 10 minutes.


I'd rather die being killed by a nuclear bomb than slowly bleeding out after taking a bullet to the chest.
Original post by G8D
He seems like a level-headed man with admirable intentions. I'm not saying he's perfect or innocent but the campaign against him seems to be more smear than justice seeking.


Agreed.

And I thought it was fascinating how Kucinich asked him about his Hippocratic Oath; I myself had wondered about this (Assad was a doctor, and lived here in London in the 1980s and early 90s).

His answer was that, just like a doctor sometimes has to do harm (cutting someone open for surgery is technically a battery under the law), to cut out the tumerous growth, and that in this case the patient is the whole country. It did provide a very interesting insight into a how a Westernised, educated doctor could rationalise the use of extreme violence to suppress the rebel forces.

It was also interesting how he talked about the Al Qaeda ideology being more dangerous than the rebels per se. Anyone familiar with Syrian history (the Muslim brotherhood rebellion from 1976-1982 in Syria) would recognise the truth of this.

He also pointed out, when asked by Palkot about the hopes many had for him as a reformer, that reform is not independent of external events, and that the chaos of the middle east in the last decade has made it exceptionally difficult to reform.

Overall, this interview cemented my view that, while not perfect, Assad is certainly preferable to the Al Nusra front and the Sunni insurgency.
Reply 6
I'm sorry but let us all remember that we have YET TO BE PRESENTED any evidence he did squat-all! And the evidence we do have points towards the 'rebels' using gas, potentially Sarin, against anyone and everyone - not least their other crimes against innocents. The Mass Media of the western world we're in is a atrocious! I would argue the campaign against Gadhafi was tried again on Assad, not working, so he was blamed for a gas attack using CONFIDENTIAL US intelligence (they refused to show even the UN S.C.!) and now they've come to learn that no-one is going to support yet another war, they're trying to smear him using petty quibbles.
Original post by ImNew
I'd rather die being killed by a nuclear bomb than slowly bleeding out after taking a bullet to the chest.

I agree with your initial point, but a nuclear bomb doesn't kill everyone in that manner and its effects can devastate for generations to come.
Reply 8
Original post by TheGrinningSkull
I agree with your initial point, but a nuclear bomb doesn't kill everyone in that manner and its effects can devastate for generations to come.


My point is that our personal dying preferences are entirely irrelevant.
Original post by ImNew
My point is that our personal dying preferences are entirely irrelevant.


But wouldn't that thought be rather selfish?

In the sense that knowing others would be affected who are innocent while you are a fighter die along side you should not be the way, only the ones who fight in conflict should bear the responsibilities of their actions, on both sides.
Reply 10
Original post by TheGrinningSkull
But wouldn't that thought be rather selfish?

In the sense that knowing others would be affected who are innocent while you are a fighter die along side you should not be the way, only the ones who fight in conflict should bear the responsibilities of their actions, on both sides.


Nobody is innocent in total warfare, everyone is producing and putting their tax money towards one army or another.
Reply 11
After all his anti-western rhetoric, he goes ahead and cries to them, trying to justify himself as the good guy. He knows that once the Mujahideen had entered this war, it was never going to end until his head detaches from his body.

Looks like a desperate attempt of trying to get as much sympathy from the west as possible in hopes they will stop arming the rebels, which regardless isn't going to stop the rebels from finding weapons from one channel or another.

ps. Very fitting that Fox news was to interview him.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by ImNew
Nobody is innocent in total warfare, everyone is producing and putting their tax money towards one army or another.


Because you have to pay tax as you're required to by the law of that land, which let's not forget, the Quran advocates abiding by the law of whatever land you're in.

So don't start speaking this bull of everyone's guilty and whatnot when you know full well what I'm talking about.

And then you forget the elderly and children, maybe they're guilty too for being the parents and offspring of the so called "guilty taxpayers".

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