World

Assad: US Strike on Syria Would Aid Al-Qaeda

In a CBS interview, says no war because 9/11

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In an exclusive interview with CBS News' Charlie Rose, President Bashar Assad said he is "disappointed" in the Obama administration for pursuing a strike against Syria, claiming faulty intelligence and a foreign policy comparable with the policy of former President George W. Bush. He also said any U.S. involvement in Syria's two-year-old civil war would only embolden America's enemies.

At first offering a more tempered argument against a U.S. strike, Assad explained it would not serve U.S. security interests.

"The first question that they should ask [themselves], what do wars give America?…Nothing. No political gain, no economic gain, no good reputation. United States' credibility is at…[an] all-time low. So this war is against the interests of the United States," Assad said. "Why?"