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Khaddam: Assad Felt Washington Could Not Care Less About Lebanon

Syrian President Bashar Assad was duped by his advisors into believing the United States was indifferent about his grip on Lebanon and would "come crawling on its knees" to win Damascus' support for its invasion of Iraq.

According to Syrian ex-Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, Lebanon was one of the "recurrent blunders" committed by the Assad regime.

Khaddam, who had shunned the media for most of his 30-odd years in politics, spoke in a marathon interview Friday on Al Arabiya that unveiled a decision to defect after repeated attempts to counsel Assad had failed.

He said he had cautioned Assad against supporting a renewal of President Lahoud's mandate to avert the wrath of Washington and the international community. But the young leader would not heed the warning.

U.S. Congressman Darrel Issa and Martin Indyk, Washington's ex-ambassador to Israel, had visited Damascus separately to discuss with Assad regional issues. But he had read their messages incorrectly.

On Sept. 6, 2004, Khaddam met with Assad, days after Syria forced a three-year extension of President Lahoud's mandate, defying U.N. Security Council endorsed Resolution 1559, which had warned Damascus to back off.

Assad, Khaddam disclosed, "still maintained that the Americans did not care about Lebanon, and that all they cared about is Iraq."

Khaddam insinuated that the "incorrect political reading" was partly the fault of Farouk al-Sharaa, the fiery Syrian foreign minister who has emerged in recent months as Assad's right arm.

Beirut, 31 Dec 05, 00:00


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