In Syria, harsh criticism has recently been leveled at the U.S. The Syrian information minister, Muhsin Bilal, told the UAE daily Al-Khaleej that the U.S. was a viper-like fascist state, and the Syrian government daily Teshreen called U.S. leaders "terrorists" and 'serial killers" who are perpetrating genocide among the nations of the world on a daily basis, and who should be called before a war crimes tribunal.

The following are excerpts:

Syrian Information Minister: The U.S. is Fascist

In the UAE daily Al-Khaleej, Syrian Information Minister Dr. Muhsin Bilal harshly criticized the U.S., comparing it, along with Israel, to a viper ravaging Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon that is expected to strike at any moment – even though it knows that this may cost it its life. Bilal also labeled the U.S. fascist, accusing it of seeking to turn Iraq into a dangerous center of terrorism; to wreak havoc in Lebanon; to place the lawful Palestinian government in Gaza, and Hamas, under siege; and, with the help of other forces, to do everything in its power to transform all of Syria into a refugee camp.

As for the peace initiative of President Bush, Bilal called it illusory, saying that its aim was to throw sand into the eyes of the Arabs – because U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had stated that there would be no discussion of borders, Palestinian refugees, or Jerusalem. Bilal went on to accuse the Americans of marketing democracy and human rights in the region while at the same time arming the countries in it.[1]

Teshreen Editor: U.S. Presidents are Serial Killers

In an editorial, the editor of the Syrian government daily Teshreen, 'Issam Dari, wrote: "The day before yesterday, August 6, [2007], marked the anniversary of the most appalling crime ever known to humanity: U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of the first nuclear bomb on the city of Hiroshima…

"It is not our intention to list the numerous crimes [perpetrated by] the U.S., beginning with Japan and Latin America… and ending with Europe, Africa, and Asia… However, on the occasion of the anniversary of the massacre in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must ask: Isn't the government of the current U.S. president, George Bush, identical to that of Harry Truman?..

"Today's Iraq is the Hiroshima of the Arab [world]; Afghanistan is the Hiroshima of Asia; the rest, the American gentleman already knows – he is using state-of-the-art inventions devised by the cruel human mind in order to sow death, without differentiating between men and women, young and old. The only thing that matters is: The slightest shadow of defeat must not touch that American 'Yankee' thirsting for blood and murder.

"The current American administration is like Hollywood horror movies about a 'serial killer,' who, driven by a mental affliction, chooses his victims to suit his whim. The difference is that at the end of an American movie, the murderer is punished – either killed or executed. [In contrast,] the official murderer [i.e. the U.S. president] continues to provoke mankind, while the law and the regimes, instead of condemning him, grant legitimacy to the criminal acts of terrorism that he perpetrates. He, in turn, grants legitimacy to the actions of these murderers, butchers, and terrorists – of whom Israel is only one of the numerous examples.

"Acts of mass murder perpetrated by the American 'master' – for whom murder has become a matter of daily routine – have not ceased since he decided to exterminate America's indigenous population, [i.e.] the Indians; [these acts] include the famous [case of] Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed by Iraq, the Jenin refugee camp, Nablus, Gaza, Kana, Mirwahin, and Dhahiya in Beirut... The crime has remained the same, although the names, faces, and fingerprints of the serial killers may have changed. The terrorism has remained the same, although it may now be called differently – [in fact,] the [U.S. presidents] have come to regard it as a war on terror, and [to consider it to be] in the name of spreading democracy and peace.

"If we are not in a position to bring this pack of leaders to trial, we must at least expose their crimes and let history judge them. However, we must never renounce our right to bring them to trial before a war crime tribunal, so that they receive the punishment they deserve…"[2]

Teshreen: The U.S. is Responsible for Genocide on a Daily Basis

Nasri Al-Sayigh, a Lebanese columnist who contributes regularly to the Syrian government daily Teshreen, wrote: "If we add up the crimes perpetrated by Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, and Stalin, the toll of the victims they left behind will be lower than that of the successive American administrations, beginning with the Hiroshima [and Nagasaki] bombs and ending with the ongoing massacre in Iraq. If we consider the [total] number of victims of the successive American administrations – [victims] who live thousands of miles away from the U.S., [e.g.] in Japan, (North and South) Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicaragua, the Philippines, El Salvador, Panama, Lebanon, Iraq, Iraq, and [again] Iraq – we will find that they are the product of war crimes committed without restraint or compunction.

"If we compile all the declarations, announcements, and government [plans of the U.S. administrations] on peace and on attempts to attain it, [we will discover] that we are faced with human slaughter and genocide [being perpetrated] on a daily basis…

"For the first time, Bush is, without even the slightest shame, openly demanding the annihilation of half of a people... [by] urging the 'New Palestinian Authority' to destroy Hamas, which was elected by democratic process and represents the majority [of the population]. He is also encouraging the Lebanese government to exclude more than half of the Lebanese people, just as it encouraged Israel to bomb the Lebanese and their villages for 33 days.

"We live in a time when the American pirate dictates the laws of life and death, as well as the laws of spreading violence and counter-violence."[3]