Syria's Assad blames France as Arab world condemns Paris attacks

[MikeWB]

This pic says it all:



How this idiot is still the president is beyond me. He was the president during the some of the worst tеrrоrіѕt attacks on France and his idiotic policies directly contributed to these tragedies.

French people are truly doomed. There is no hope for them.



Beirut (AFP) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sought to exploit the Paris attacks for political gain Friday, calling on France to change policies that he says have contributed to the "spread of terrorism".
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Across the Middle East, most Arab governments expressed shock and anger at the gun and bomb assault that left at least 128 people dead.

The Islamic State group, a jihadist organisation that has declared a self-styled "caliphate" across parts of Iraq and Syria, said it carried out the attacks.

In a meeting with a delegation of French lawmakers in Damascus the day after the attack, Assad said France's "mistaken policies... have contributed to the spread of terrorism".

"France has got to know what we live with in Syria."

He said French President Francois Hollande "should change his policy."

"The question that is being asked throughout France today is, was France's policy over the past five years the right one? The answer is no."

France has been a leading supporter of the Syrian opposition since soon after protests against Assad's rule broke out in 2011.
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A handout picture provided by the Syrian Arab News …
A handout picture provided by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows President Bashar al-Assad (C-L) spea ...

Although Assad has hosted numerous rightwing parliamentary delegations from France, Paris remains staunchly opposed to his rule in Syria.

Hollande recently insisted that Assad "cannot be part of the solution" to Syria's brutal war.

- Europe 'did not listen' -

France is also part of a US-led coalition conducting an air war against IS in both Syria and Iraq.

It has carried out air strikes in Iraq for more than a year and extended them to Syria in September.

"We warned against what would happen in Europe for the past three years," Assad said on Saturday.

"We said, don't take what is happening in Syria lightly. Unfortunately, European officials did not listen," he said, in comments to the delegation broadcast by France's Europe 1 radio.
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European capitals have reinforced security checks as …
European capitals have reinforced security checks as governments held emergency cabinet meetings a d ...

The Syrian president regularly blames the West, including France, as well as Arab states for financing rebel groups in Syria.

Damascus considers all its opponents -- including peaceful activists and non-Islamist groups -- as "terrorists".

Asked about potentially working with France in the fight against extremist groups such as IS, Assad said: "We cannot build cooperation between secret services without political cooperation."

The head of Syria's opposition National Coalition, the leading political anti-Assad body, on Saturday denounced the Paris attacks.

Khaled Khoja expressed the National Coalition's "strongest condemnation of the horrific terrorist attacks of Paris and... we confirm our solidarity with our friends; the French nation."

- 'Destructive scourge' -

In a statement issued in English, he called on the international community to "eliminate all kinds of terrorism... including all regimes which patron and finance it; on top of which is the regime of Bashar (al-)Assad."

Other Arab countries as well as Iran strongly denounced the Paris attacks.

A key backer of Assad throughout Syria's war, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the attacks "crimes against humanity".

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned the "terrorist" attacks and called for international cooperation to eradicate "this dangerous and destructive scourge".

Qatar condemned the "armed attacks and bombings", saying they "contradict all moral and humanitarian principles and values".

The head of Sunni Islam's leading seat of learning, Egypt's Al-Azhar, condemned the "hateful incident" and urged "the world to unite to confront this monster".

The top Sunni Muslim religious authority in Saudi Arabia, the council of senior ulemas, said the attacks which also wounded 300 people were "contrary to Islam and its principles".

And Bassem Naim, head of the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas's Council of International Relations, called the attacks "acts of aggression and barbarity".

[rmstock]

Hollande recently insisted that Assad "cannot be part of the solution" to Syria's brutal war.

And there's the crux of the matter. The allies of the Assad government
(Russia, Iran etc.) versus the opponents of the Assad regime (USA, etc.).
The key switcher in the pro versus contra Assad stance is Israel no
doubt. Just like with Qaddafi the anti-Semite card has also been handed
to Assad. And all these accusations turn out to be based on lies and
unsubstantiated claims.

Huge Syria Conference in Vienna 20 Top Diplomats expected
http://theinfounderground.com/smf/index.php?topic=20051.0

Clinton says removing Assad in Syria is No. 1 priority
http://theinfounderground.com/smf/index.php?topic=19906.0

'Assad must go': These 3 little words are huge obstacle for Obama on Syria
http://theinfounderground.com/smf/index.php?topic=19985.0

Turkey is the next failed state in the Middle East: Spengler
http://theinfounderground.com/smf/index.php?topic=20010.0

Erdogan arrests mag. editors for "civil war" cover
http://theinfounderground.com/smf/index.php?topic=20095.0

The objectors to the Assad government better put their hard fact
evidence of the dirty detail about Assad where their mouths are,
otherwise it might start haunting them back. And no, granting FOIA
requests with NSA, CIA, FBI resulting in black painted prose and
`literature' won't help.

[MikeWB]

rmstock, good post!

The biggest obstacle and the biggest funder of tеrrоrіѕm is Saudi Barbaria. But they are a HUGE ally of US and that's why US has been supporting tеrrоrіѕm and that's why they've been arming ISIS.

Saudis and Israelis are also friends (even though KSA sometimes "threatens" them to appease their fundamentalists.

https://archive.is/v8mzt#selection-4051.0-4057.173

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba – but the Saudi government is reluctant to stem the flow of money, according to Hillary Clinton. "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups," says a secret December 2009 paper signed by the US secretary of state. Her memo urged US diplomats to redouble their efforts to stop Gulf money reaching extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide," she said. Three other Arab countries are listed as sources of militant money: Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The cables highlight an often ignored factor in the Pakistani and Afghan conflicts: that the violence is partly bankrolled by rich, conservative donors across the Arabian Sea whose governments do little to stop them. The problem is particularly acute in Saudi Arabia, where militants soliciting funds slip into the country disguised as holy pilgrims, set up front companies to launder funds and receive money from government-sanctioned charities.