• This is a frustrating interview, friends. In it, Bashar al-Assad essentially denies the obvious — that there’s a bloody crackdown happening against anti-government protesters, led by the Syrian government. Example: Walters references a series of pictures showing pictures of violence — including against children. “People went from house to house,” she said. “Children were arrested. I saw those pictures.” Assad’s response: “To be frank with you, Barbara, I don’t believe you.” Like we said, supremely frustrating. Assad says that “terrorists” are behind the months-long violent crackdown, rather than Syrian troops. source

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