Assad vows Syria will "annihilate terrorists", but Annan "optimistic" ahead of talks

Syrian President Bashar Assad

News Analysis

(CBS News) Syrian President Bashar Assad reiterated Thursday his hard line stance against the opposition movement seeking to drive him from power, vowing to "annihilate terrorists" in the nation which has been torn apart by an escalating civil war for more than a year.

Assad's iron grip on power - his family has run Syria since 1970 - is being increasingly tested by attacks closer to his power base in the capital city of Damascus, and rebel forces now control much of the northern Idlib province.

His response has been a brutal crackdown on opposition strongholds across the country, using the full force of his military, including heavy weapons, on residential areas where rebel forces are holed up. He is also accused of sanctioning - or at least not stopping - roving bands of loyalist militiamen known as shabiha, who've been accused of a series of civilian massacres in opposition towns and villages.

In an exclusive interview with Iran's IRIB television network, which was re-broadcast Thursday on Syrian State TV, Assad makes it clear he is not about to ease the assault.

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"The responsibility of the Syrian government is to protect all of our residents. You have a responsibility to annihilate terrorists in any corner of the country," he told Iran's state-run network.

Assad's refusal to bow under huge pressure from the United States, Europe and many of his neighboring nations is facilitated almost entirely by the still-staunch support of Russia - a permanent, veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council.

Moscow, a long-time ally and vital economic partner of the Assad family, has blocked harsher sanctions against the regime at the U.N., but has continued to push for a resolution to the crisis based on a peace plan from international envoy Kofi Annan.

Annan's initial six-point ceasefire plan was agreed to on paper, but never made any progress in curtailing the daily violence in Syria - with the government and rebel forces trading blame for that failing. A U.N. monitoring mission which began patrolling Syria and assessing the violence as part of that ceasefire plan has indefinitely suspended operations, citing conditions too dangerous for their unarmed teams.

On Saturday, diplomats from the U.S. and other major powers will meet in Geneva to try and convince Russia to accept a new transition-of-power plan from Annan, which would see Assad step aside and a new unity government take over.

Reuters reports, however, that Russia proposed changes Thursday that would remove that key stipulation - Assad handing over power - from the plan.

Moscow insists the U.S. and other Assad foes have refused to acknowledge the Syrian rebels' role in prolonging the violence, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the onus should be on the opposition to join talks with Assad, not for Assad to step down.

Russia: Regime change in Syria not on the agenda

Annan, speaking ahead of preparatory talks in Geneva on Friday, sounded hopeful in spite of the looming showdown between Moscow and the U.S.

"I think we are going to have a good meeting tomorrow," he told Reuters TV. "I am optimistic."

Annan seems to be pinning his optimism on the hope that a plan that does not explicitly ban Assad from leadership - but that bans anyone whose participation could be seen as divisive - can be agreed to. As Assad's government is accused of killing more than 10,000 people in its crackdown, the implication would be clear.

Assad, meanwhile, told Iranian TV on Thursday that his government "will not accept any non-Syrian, non-national model, whether it comes from big countries or friendly countries. No one knows how to solve Syria's problems as well as we do."

Even if Assad's words are to be dismissed as empty rhetoric buoyed by a bubble of Russian support, there's no clear indication yet that Russia is willing to back down from its position and get behind a plan that calls for him to hand over power - regardless of how carefully it is worded.

And the increasingly well-armed and effective opposition has made it clear - as recently as Thursday - that any plan which leaves Assad in a position of power is not a plan they're interested in endorsing.

[reeno91]

The Syrian government's job IS to protect it's residents and Assad is doing the exact opposite. The only terrorists that are in Syria are him and his thugs. He clearly does not know how to solve the Syrians' problems since they are still demanding him to leave. For the past forty two years, the Assad regime has done nothing for the Syrian people for them to want them. The Syrian people only demand basic human rights, and instead are being slaughtered as the world watches. In the beginning of the revolution, people would be killed for simply PEACEFULLY protesting in the streets. Now the Syrian people are killed wherever they are. Their homes are being bombed, children are being slaughtered, women are being raped. He has cut off access to food and water, destroyed all medical supplies, and thinks he could STILL come up with an agreement with the Syrian people? Too much damage has been done, and there is nothing he can do to fix it but leave the Syrian people alone. Even though he doesn't want any outside intervention, it shouldn't be his choice. Everybody needs to put pressure on their governments to intervene, because this is a humanitarian crisis. People are being killed. The numbers in this article are wrong, over 17,000 deaths are confirmed. There are many bodies that haven't even been found, and over 200,000 people are in prison, and only God knows how they are being treated there and how many of them are alive. These numbers are way too high, and we can't let him get away with everything that he has done.

[MohammedSYR]

Following the abysmal failure of his first plan that helped Assad buy some more time to massacre more civilians, Annan is now 'optimistic' about his new plan that proposes that the victims and those who mass murdered them, gang-raped them, looted and torn down their houses, turned them into refugees living in makeshift camps, displaced them from their towns and villages, and destroyed their places of worship come together to form a new government! Good luck!

[MohammedSYR]

Following the abysmal failure of his first plan that helped Assad buy some more time to massacre more civilians, Annan is now 'optimistic' about his new plan that proposes that the victims and those who mass murdered them, gang-raped them, looted and burned down their houses, turned them into refugees living in makeshift camps, displaced them from their towns and villages, and destroyed their places of worship come together to fore a new government. Good luck!

[MohammedSYR]

Following the abysmal failure of his first plan that helped Assad buy some more time to massacre more civilians, Annan is now 'optimistic' about his new plan that proposes that the victims and those who mass murdered them, gang-raped them, looted and torn down their houses, turned them into refugees living in makeshift camps and displaced them from their towns and villages, and destroyed their places of worship come together to fore a new government. Good luck!

[audemus]

Classic....villify, dehumanize your enemy....makes it easier to kill them.

[raymailhot]

Assad probably feels the same about al queda, the muslim brotherhood and the arab spring that most Americans do!

[fiddlestickawshucks]

Seems to me that Putin just might have plans to return Russia to its former Communist State.

If Russia is the only one holding up any action on Syria; maybe the UN Security Council should get together and kick Russia out of it.

Putin is another egomaniac; determined to show how much power he has over the Council.

It's no wonder the Russian people protested when he was re-elected.

Truth to tell; he was never really gone.

I suspect the Russian people think they will be right back where they started from 50 years ago , and I honestly think that is Putin's ultimate aim.

If the Council can't get Russia out, then they should change the law so it does not require 100% agreement before any action is taken.

Russia has been screwing the Council for years; blocking every option brought up by them.

In effect; Putin is ruling the rest of the world.

He reminds me of our current do-nothing Congress and the Party of NO.

Obama seems to be starting down the same path with his abuse of Executive Privilege.

Our new campaigns motto as Americans should be "fight it now - or pay later".

It's just absolutely disgusting.

Assad should be removed from the face of the earth and sent to hell to join the rest of his family.





right back where they started from 50 years ago