President Assad’s 25-minute interview with the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen, broadcast on Tuesday:
See Syria Analysis: Assad’s Latest PR Campaign — The Interview with the BBC
Assad’s answers to tough questions are a series of denial. From the transcript posted by Syrian State media:
*The regime is not presiding over a failed Syria: “As long as the government and the state institutions are fulfilling their duty towards the Syrian people, we cannot talk about failed states.”
*”I never said we made mistakes in handling this.”
*There were no peaceful protests: “Some still talk about that period as “peaceful-demonstration period” and I will tell you that during the first few weeks, many policemen were killed, shot dead. I don’t think they were shot dead and killed by the sound waves of the demonstrators….From the very beginning, the demonstrations weren’t peaceful.”
*The regime is not responsible for civilian casualties: “If we were the one who killed our people, as they said, how could we withstand four years while the people are against us, supposedly, and the West, and the regional countries, and I spent four years in my position with the government, with the army, with the institutions, without public support? That’s impossible.”
*The regime has never attacked civilians and has never used barrel bombs: “This is a childish story they keep repeating in the West….[The army] use bullets, missiles, and bombs. I haven’t heard of an army using barrels or maybe cooking pots….There are no barrel bombs.”
*The regime never carried out chemical weapons attacks: “Who verified who threw that gas on who? Who verified the numbers?…It’s not a WMD, it’s not about gas, it’s something…we don’t know what it is.”
*The regime does not carry out sieges on civilian areas: “The civilians fled and came to our areas, so in most of the areas that we encircle and attack are only militants.”
