The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy. If you want to go towards democracy, the first thing is to involve the people in decision making, not to make it.
— Bashar al-Assad
Syria is geographically and politically in the middle of the Middle East.
As soon as the legitimate Lebanese government is convinced that the conditions have ripened and that Lebanon is able to maintain stability on its own... Then, the Syrian forces will return to their homeland.
Israel ranks her priorities in the following way: security, land, and water.
Israel does not care about the international public opinion.
It should be known that Israel is based on treachery.
It would be a mistake to link anything that Israel does to a certain circumstance. And it is a mistake to feel comfortable in any circumstance just because Israel did not act on it.
But the issue has to do with land, which is our land.
The most significant indicator that there is no disaster in Iraq is the fact that there is no exodus.
The logical thing is to implement the Arab Defense Agreement.
It is even more so when it comes to Iraq, which is a large Arab country with scientific, material, and human resources and is able to accomplish, at the least, what Lebanon accomplished, and more.
When we analyze this war in a materialistic way and ask when is it going to end and who will be the winner and the loser, it means that we do not see the endgame.
Israeli interests are not necessarily in harmony with the American interests.
We have more difficult circumstances than most of the Arab countries but in spite of that Syria is stable. Why? Because you have to be very closely linked to the beliefs of the people. This is the core issue.
I am not a puppet. I was not made by the West to go to the West or to any other country.
Hizbullah is not a militia.
When our interests matched, the Americans have been good to us, and when the interests differed, they wanted us to mold ourselves to them, which we refused.
Since its very inception, Israel has been a threat.
It is natural that we should always expect an Israeli attack, even when it does not threaten.
Is there an equality of power between America and Iraq? Definitely not; however, the Iraqi people are standing fast and are defending their land courageously.
Worry does not mean fear, but readiness for the confrontation.
The problem is not the occupation, but how people deal with it.
The U.S. and Britain are incapable of controlling all of Iraq.
When Lebanon started its resistance it was a small and divided country.
The Israeli lobby has clout in the U.S., which means that re-arranging the region and controlling its resources one way or another, will serve Israel through its control over the American administration.
Despite the ethnic diversity within each nation, the social fabric of the region by and large is one.
You cannot reform your society or institution without opening your mind.
I am Syrian, I was made in Syria, I have to live in Syria and die in Syria.
Armies are not only for offensives.
As far as we are concerned, we Syria have not changed.
We are dealing with treachery and threats, which accompanied the establishment of Israel.
None of us and none of the Arabs trust Israel.
You in Lebanon, your power is no match to Israel. Israel, militarily, is more powerful than you and maybe it is more powerful than all the Arab countries, or most of them.
Today, the Iraqi citizen sees that America is coming and wants to occupy his country and kill him, and he is willing to experience for himself what happened in Palestine.
Lebanon was under Israeli occupation, up to its capital, but we did not consider that a disaster. Why? Because it was very clear that there are ways to resist.
No doubt that the U.S. is a super-power capable of conquering a relatively small country, but is it able to control it?
We believe that Lebanon has been the first real experience for all the Arabs.
America is interested in re-arranging the region as it sees fit.
We, in Syria, our point of view stems from our experience.
