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| Middle East |
| US does not understand ME events, says Syria |
| 2002-10-23 |
| Syrian President Bashar al-Assad harshly criticized US policies on both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iraq, in talks on Tuesday with Washington's special envoy for the Middle East. "The United States does not seem able to understand events in the Middle East, and that is dangerous," Assad bluntly told William Burns, the assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, Syrian state radio reported. More dangerous to Assad than to us... Accusing Washington of bias towards Israel, Assad said: "This means that US policy in the Middle East is not founded on the veracity of events but rather on biased sources, particularly Israeli." It's a cultural thing. Neither Israel nor the U.S. is into homicide... The president spoke his mind, taking to task the United States for what he considered its hollow words and inaction in the Middle East. Assad urged Burns to "define the practical means and a timetable for peace" in the Middle East, warning that the US-evoked Palestinian state would be "a state without people" unless Washington stopped Israel's "war of extermination waged by (Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon against the Palestinians". If we don't understand, why do you want us to come in and make things right? Being a stoopid Westerner, I have a hard time understanding how blowing up everyone in sight, to include yourself, leads to peace... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |