Assad: American plan for a new Mideast has collapsed
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 15, 2006
America's plan for a "new Middle East" has collapsed after Hizbullah's
successes in fighting against Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad said
on Tuesday in Damascus.
"The Middle East they (the Americans) aspire to ... has become an
illusion," he said.
Assad, speaking to a journalists' association in Damascus, said the
region had changed "because of the achievements of the resistance."
"Though we have chosen peace as a strategic decision, there are also
other ways to reclaim our rights," Assad declared.
The Syrian president went on to claim that the peace process has
"failed", calling Israel the enemy and saying that it did not want peace.
The fighting in Lebanon had been planned by Israel for some time, he
said, but the endeavor failed.
"The result was more failure for Israel, its allies and masters," Assad
said.
The Syrian leader said US participation was needed for a peace
settlement in the Middle East, but he said peace cannot be achieved
under the administration of US President George Bush.
"This is an administration that adopts the principle of pre-emptive war
that is absolutely contradictory to the principle of peace," he said.
"Consequently, we don't expect peace soon or in the foreseeable future."
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