Bashar al-Assad on ABC News
I just watched Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be interviewed by ABC‘s Diane Sawyer. Assad has always struck me as a smooth talker, clearly someone who has mastered the art of political parlance. He is very adept at avoiding questions, hedging his answers, and playing to his audience.
When he talks about Iraq, for example, he manages to deny any culpability for insurgent violence while presenting himself as the only Arab leader who could possibly bring about an end to the conflict. In this interview, Assad did what he always does: he resolutely denied that his government allows insurgents to enter into Iraq, but he also argued that political pressure from Damascus might bring about an end to the bloodshed. This doesn’t really make sense, if you think about it. If his government does not support the insurgents nor any of the anti-government forces (which he claims), what leverage would Assad have to wage a peace agreement?
5 Responses to “Bashar al-Assad on ABC News”
Thought I think the answer you present is the most likely one, you asked the question so I’ll give another possibility.
It might be simply that those groups who are causing trouble inside Iraq are not support by Syria, but rather have some sort of mutual understanding with that government. Syria doesn’t try to disarm them or interfere in their global missions, while they do not support any overthrow of Syria’s secular government. These existing ties could be used as an opening or perhaps even leverage against these militaristic groups. Bashar might simply be saying ‘we provide the diplomatic path of least resistance towards settleing this dispute peacefully’.
Again, not the most probable answer, but another possibility.
“If his government does not support the insurgents nor any of the anti-government forces (which he claims), what leverage would Assad have to wage a peace agreement?”
Hmm. Do you know what’s the name of Syria’s sole party? And do you remember the name Saddam’s party?
Middle east parties 100:
What is the Baath party?
No, that’s not a coincidence, there are historical roots.
Actually, this made me wonder since the Iraq war started if there’s really anything to that ‘axis of evil’ that some pundits talk about. What do secular Sunni Syria and fundamentalist Shiite Iran have in common? Their siblings even fight one another in Iraq! They may be in the same boat because of their common enemy USA, but imho it’s doubtful if they’re even rowing in the some direction. All the more reason to engage them diplomatically and see if this rift can’t be used for the advantage of the US.
Sawyer’s Interview With Assad, Part II…
You have gone through all the trouble of setting up an interview with Assad, and no mention of Hizbullah and what they’re doing to Lebanon? What were the rules of this interview that you couldn’t address those issues, which are certainly more pressin…
An interview is just a PR op for Assad. Syria loves to send their people in front of cameras to tell us how sincere and trustworthy they are. Personally, I don’t think there is any way to ferret out what he really thinks in such a setting.
That’s why I so strongly believe in face to face talks/negotiations by our professionals. It’s the only way to gauge what he will actually commit to.