Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
Following are excerpts from a speech by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, which aired on Syrian TV on March 5, 2006.
Some in the West display disdain and contempt for "the other" - first and foremost for the Arabs, of course. They think that their power is absolute, and cannot be resisted or confronted, and that we must, therefore, completely surrender to it, agree to everything they say, and obey them, even if this goes against our interests.
[...]
There are some in our region, especially among the Arabs, who do not respect their own identity and culture, and who are dazzled by the West in an unlimited and unobjective manner. I am among those who admire the progress of the West and its many achievements. But if we want to be dazzled, it must be within the boundaries of reason. They have been dazzled to the point of blindness, but at the same time, this compensates them for their inferiority complex.
[...]
It is well known that Iraq has the greatest number of scientists, who are among the best in the Arab world. They are being assassinated systematically. We are not allowed to have minds and to progress.
[...]
In the past, it was the U.S. that pressured Israel to move forward towards peace. Today, if any Israeli considers - even if only for tactical purposes or as a test - acting, or even talking, in a way that suggests that there is progress towards peace, some elements within the American administration pressure him, in order to prevent him from moving towards peace, with the pretext that this would strengthen some Arab countries.
Latest Clips
