We have yet to see the evidence that Bashar al-Assad actually used chemical weapons against his own people. In fact, the evidence we have seen indicates that the weapons were used by the opposition to Assad. Now Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin have called the Obama administration’s bluff and demanded to see evidence that the Assad regime is responsible for the chemical attack.
In, an exclusive interview, Assad told Le Figaro, a French news outlet,
“Show me the proof of regime chemical attack.”
“Whoever accuses must provide proof. We have challenged the United States and France to provide the slightest proof. (US President Barack) Obama and (French president François) Hollande have been incapable (of doing so) even to their own people,” Assad told French newspaper Le Figaro in an exclusive interview.
The Obama administration claims that 1,429 people were killed in an August 21 attack outside of Damascus. In a State Department speech on Friday night, Kerry claimed there was evidence from “thousands of sources” that Assad had launched the attack, but just could never actually provide the evidence. It seems like we’ve heard this one before.
(As a side note, we should be questioning what is being reported, just take a look at this video if you don’t think so.)
[youtube]http://youtu.be/fpmFIWm1dWw[/youtube]
Assad questioned the “logic” of claims that his forces carried out the attack.
“Supposing our army wishes to use weapons of mass destruction. Is it possible that it would do so in a zone where it is located and where (our) soldiers were wounded by these arms, as United Nations inspectors have noted during visits to hospitals where they were treated? Where is the logic?” he asked.
Assad warned that if Western forces struck Syria, it would result in an explosion of the Middle East “powder keg,” whose “fuse is getting shorter.”
“Nobody knows what will happen (after such strikes). Everyone will lose control of the situation when the powder keg explodes. Chaos and extremism will spread. The risk of a regional war exists,” he warned.
Bashar al-Assad then gave a warning to those who would join in attacking Syria.
“Whoever contributes financially or militarily to bolstering terrorists is an enemy of the Syrian people,” he said. “Whoever is against the interests of Syria and its people is an enemy.”
Though two-thirds of the people of France oppose intervention in Syria, that isn’t keeping their leaders from debating military intervention.
“The French people are not our enemy. If the policies of the French state are hostile to the Syrian people, this state will be its enemy. This hostility will end when the French state changes its policies. There will be repercussions – negative, of course – against the interests of France,” he warned.
Assad also called Barack Obama a weak leader.
“If Obama was strong, he would have said publicly: ‘We have no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian State’. He would have said publicly: ‘The only way to proceed is through UN investigations. We, therefore, refer everything to the Security Council.’ But Obama is weak because he is facing pressure from within the United States,” he said.
The Syrian President also said the time for dialoguing with terrorists was over.
“We are fighting terrorists. Eighty to 90 percent of those we are fighting belong to Al Qaeda. They are not interested in reform or in politics. The only way to deal with them is to annihilate them. Only then will we be able to talk about political measures,” he said.
I have no argument with that statement! I wish our own government was actually that straightforward.
However, Assad is not alone in demanding the Obama administration lay their cards on the table and provide proof that his forces launched the chemical attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also made similar demands.
The Times of Israel reports:
The US should present the evidence it possesses of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian regime to the UN Security Council, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, amid rising tensions in the region ahead of a possible US-led military response in Syria.
“If they say that the [Syrian] governmental forces used weapons of mass destruction… and that they have proof of it, let them present it to the UN inspectors and the [UN] Security Council,” Putin said, speaking to journalists in Vladivostok.
“Claims that the proof exists, but is classified and cannot be presented to anybody are below criticism. This is plain disrespect for their partners,” he added.
Putin also called the allegations against the Assad regime “utter nonsense.”
“While the Syrian army is on the offensive, saying that it is the Syrian government that used chemical weapons is utter nonsense,” he said.
Russia has already armed Syria with their most advanced anti-ship missiles. Additionally, Russia was set to provide fighter jets and S-300 missile defense systems to Syria, but that has been postponed due to a failed financial transaction.
I think the American people are entitled to see the “evidence” Kerry is running around touting, especially when it’s our sons and daughters that will be putting their lives on the line. The irony in the entire scenario is that John Kerry is pushing this nonsense, when he was the spineless coward, selling out his fellow servicemen during Vietnam. My how times don’t change. Kerry is ready to sell our military servicemen out again. As if you need a reminder….
[youtube]http://youtu.be/phqOuEhg9yE[/youtube]
Tim Brown is the Editor of Freedom Outpost and a regular contributor to The D.C. Clothesline.
