الأسد ينفي إصداره أوامر بقتل متظاهرين: "لا يفعل ذلك سوى شخص مجنون"

"some mistakes committed by some officials" ...probably his best quote today! :)

Well my answer might be construed by some as unconventional and rather imaginary, but I do think that bashar might indeed have nothing to do with the killing perpetrated by the armed forces. He might as well be a hostage who is unable to abdicate his throne as he might be killed by the armed forces. A president appearing on a famous TV could not really say lies so flagrant if they didn't indeed exist.

What I sense also is something that might be the begining of the end of the regime. This interview might be an indication that the president is sensing or feeling that the situation has slipped from his hands and the hands of those who hold him hostage to their end.

If anything does happen and the regime falls, the opposition before retributing at Assad should give him the benefit of the doubt by questioning him to see if what he said has any shred of truth in it.

I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dream that a president educated like Assad would kill in this ferocity.

A lier has to have a good memory. Bashar has forgotten that he refused to let independent observers enter Syria and report the truth!
i did not watch the interview but It sounds from what I read his arguments sound more incriminating than ever.

he is just scared: he has seen what happened to ghadafi and knows his fate will be worse. soon .... :)

Some Mistakes?? He is pathetic. He reminds me more of Saddam Hussein that Qaddafi. he is finished and is trying to lie his way out of it. Why did he agree to this interview? No one believes the liars in Iran, Syria, and the Hezz.

When a president starts passing the buck you know he knows his end is nigh.

Wow! So given the choice of being a brutal murder or an impotent incompetent, he chose the latter. Probably because he thinks there will be mercy in the ICC if he pleads impotence. One other thing, he's trying to plead insanity too. He said only a crazy person would kill his own people.

Its all a delusion. And its all a lie. Its too late for Mr. Assad. The blood of his people are all over his hands up to his elbows.

he has no choice but to say this given his upcoming date with the international criminal courts

Knowing how well Naharnet and other western outlets summarize interviews and speeches of Bashar al-Asad and Hasan Nasrallah, I'll wait and watch the full interview before making conclusions based on garbage reporting.

he is right afterall no one kills in syria, each unnatural death is suicide

@mowaten
hahahahahahaha...ok..yeah...right! ;)

@mowaten
You are back!
I hope you are following the news and seeing what is going on around, so I do hope you do realize it is coming :)

So he is calling himself crazy?? lol

To Mowaten
Please change your name and definitely remove our flag from your name.!! That is insulting enough to have you use our flag let alone the stupidities you mentionned. Get real dude you are as pathetic and as delusional as Criminal Bachar

I am the president, 4,000 are dead, Hezz and Persian shabiha are in the country, people are being raped and mutilated, .......but I don't know anything about it.

@mowaten
LoL!! You think you're sofisticated ya Mowaten with your 7 policemen broken record!! Hahahahaha....

The first 2 killed were children... Tortured... And murdered!

Here are the facts:
1. there is over 4500 citizens killed so far - probably many many more. In a civilized country - the government would have been toppled on that fact alone.
2. the protesters are unarmed civilians, who have been killed in cold blood by security forces on orders by their superiors.
3. hundreds of army soldiers have defected claiming that they refuse to fire on unarmed civilians
4. the press has been forbidden from entering Syria and covereing the revolt - If the regieme is innocent as they claim, they would let the press in, and report the truth.
5. innocent children as young as 8 have been tortured and killed as a means of pressure and intimidation.
6. armed regieme thugs have been been attacking protesters, looting villiages, and torturing civilians.

Game over susu

here are a few questions for anyone with doubt:
1. if the regieme is innocent as they claim, why not let observers in, as well as the foreign press to show this violent side of the protesters?
2. if the protesters are armed and killing civilians as the regieme claims, why aren't they attacking the pro-regieme protests - wouldn't that be more logical?
3. why are the army soldiers defecting in the hundreds and probably in the thousands if the government was right?
4. why haven't any of the reforms Assad has announced since months not been implemented yet?

just my two cents...

@mowaten = you d better ask yourself why the syrian tv the only one allowed has never been able to film those "armed terrorists" shooting civilians torturing and killing....

are they so bad in their job?

if they wanted to show the world that fact, they could have filmed them in action! killing thousands of civilians and never being able to film them is called incompetence or propaganda...

when you listen to deserters of the syrian army telling they were obliged to shoot at civilians, when you listen to syrian refugees telling that the regime kills people inside hospitals and so on... they are many more testimonies telling that bashar is guilty than others...
or just the official controlled media claim the contrary!

@lebexile= well said and full of sense!

Murad
a smart man would have waited until he saw the interview before commenting but thanks for confirming your idiocy, you give credence to the people who say the Homsi jokes are not exaggerated..

Gabby, what do you mean ASSad is pathetic? Is he the one who gave himself a grace period or was it you after his three-months-and-his-regime-will-fall expired about 2 months ago without explanations from you, buddy? I blame you, and only you (or to be fair, I blame you and Dr. Samir Ghaby). I need answers from you ASAP or else. And now Feltman, your godfather, says he hopes for a peaceful solution with the Syrian regime. Can you explain this BS? We thought the USS Cole Hawa was on its way to the mission of the Era. What is going on, Gabby? What? If you don't know, I expect to hear from either peace or the patriot, or even allouchi. I want answers, and I want them ASAP. Understand? You frustrate me by hiding things from me. Jesus Christ!

Assad is no good; Only that the muslim brotherhood and salafis are worst.

Barbara you are still a cutie pie therefore I will only allow you and no one else from the Media, I never heard of the 13 yr old that was killed because I gave the order to the minister of defense to make the problem go away but never dealt with any military personnel but if it was true and the kid was shot dead, it was because he protesting with the Government supporter folks and the armed terrorists shot him in the back along with every defected solider and policemen who are not following orders therefore they fail their duty and get executed. Oh Barbie next time bring some youtube pictures to Sasa's interview so he can believe you.

The thousands of syrian refugees in Turkey probabely went there to buy rugs and leather...and the assaulted Turkish bus...made up story as well...!

Syria, whether this regime or the previous "Sunni" lead one, has always viewed Lebanon as the 16th provence of Syria. Now many of the current "Lebanese" sympathisers of the Syrian opposition were the biggest benifactors of Syrian occupation of lebanon. Khalil gebran wrote"Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting,and farewells him with hooting, only to welcome another with trumpeting again. Pity the nation divided into into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation" Syria has now reconized Lebanon as independent for the 1st time. We support reform in Syria but we should not be supporting a revolt...Lebanon has in the past, and it lead to an invasion. Reform cannot begin under armed insurrection... We should give Bashar one last chance to reform peacefully... For the sake of us all!

What is happening now in syria, is not only about reform but is a religious battle... And I for one, am currently on the secular (non religious) side.