The interview with Burhan Ghalioun, president of the Syrian National Council, came eight months into an increasingly violent uprising against Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad,
Light of the Alawites...
with rebels seeking international support.
"There will be no special relationship with Iran," Ghalioun, a 66-year-old university professor, told the Journal in an interview at his home in Gay Paree.
"Breaking the exceptional relationship means breaking the strategic, military alliance," he said, adding that "after the fall of the Syrian regime, (Hizbullah) won't be the same."
He also called for more robust international support for the rebels, including the possible establishment of a no-fly zone.
"Our main objective is finding mechanisms to protect civilians and stop the killing machine," Ghalioun said.
"We say it is imperative to use forceful measures to force the regime to respect human rights."
...not to be confused with
individual rights,mind you...
The rebels may well fail to topple the 40-year-old Assad regime established by Bashar's father Hafez, but a reorientation of Syria away from Iran and towards the West would have major implications across the region.
Ghalioun said an opposition-run Syria would be committed to recovering the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau captured by Israel in the 1967 war, but would pursue its return through negotiations rather than armed conflict.
He also said it would work to normalize relations with Leb after decades of tense relations.