French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy: What Was Done in Libya Can Be Done in Syria

Following are excerpts from an interview with French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, which was posted on al-arabiya.net on July 27, 2012.

Interviewer: Do you agree that both the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt worked without foreign intervention?

Bernard-Henri Lévy: Absolutely, but Mubarak was not Qadhafi. It was not the same. It was not the same sort of dictatorship. It was not the same sort of brutality. If somebody today looks like Qadhafi, it is Bashar Al-Assad, who is really a butcher of his own people. Mubarak and Ben Ali were bad guys – corrupted, thieves, tyrants, of course – but they were not of the same sort.

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Interviewer: Do you think President Hollande will be as active in Syria as Sarkozy was in Libya?

Bernard-Henri Lévy: I hope so, with all my heart, because I think that it is even more doable in Syria than it was in Libya. To say that it is undoable in Syria is a joke. In Syria, it is more doable than in Libya, so I hope that Cameron and Hollande will take the stage.

Interviewer: But it has been said that President Hollande is probably more interested in helping the Euro than, if you like, going into so-called "adventures" abroad.

Bernard-Henri Lévy: To save a people is not an adventure. To help people in martyrdom is not an adventure, and I hope, with all my heart, that Mr. Hollande understands this.

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Interviewer: You agree with Syria is not Libya, right?

Bernard-Henri Lévy: I agree that Syria is not Libya, of course. That's evident. But I would like to say again that it is more doable in Syria than Libya, for one reason. Number one – because of the Turks. Number two – because of the determination of the Arab League, which is, as far as I know, very strong to get rid of him. Number three – because Bashar Al-Assad is probably less mad, less crazy, than Qadhafi was.

If there was really an escalation of the threat, if there was really a strong signal sent by the international community, my bet is that Mr. Assad would listen to it. Qadhafi did not listen to anything, and you know how it finished.

Interviewer: Mr. Lévy, some people would say that the Syrian army is larger and more coherent than the Libyan army. Don't you agree?

Bernard-Henri Lévy: I reply something else. Of course I agree, but the army of the opposition, the Free Army, is much more cohesive, much more armed, much more strong than it was in Libya.

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