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Syrian President doubts Laden capable of Saudi blasts: Report
Kuwait City, May 25: The ideology that drove the suicide missions in Riyadh and Casablanca needs to be dealt with socially rather than by security means, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published today.
Kuwait City, May 25: The ideology that drove the suicide missions in Riyadh and Casablanca needs to be dealt with socially rather than by security means, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published today.
Assad also told the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anba that he doubted terror chief Osama bin Laden or his al-Qaeda network were capable of organising attacks on such a large scale.
"We blame everything on al-Qaeda but what happened is more dangerous than bin Laden or al-Qaeda. We're talking about a certain ideological bloc. The issue is ideology, it's not an issue of organisations," Assad said.
"Such an ideology cannot live without a certain social base. It has to convince people and strengthen its presence. Dealing with this issue should be through a social approach not through security," which is only a "temporary remedy," he said.
Assad said the "incidents", where suicide bombers targetted compounds housing foreigners in Saudi Arabia on May 12 and the near simultaneous bombings in the heart of Morocco's business hub on May 16, were "interlinked with one ideological methodology."
"I cannot believe that bin Laden is the person able to outmanoeuvre the entire world. He cannot talk on telephones or use the Internet. It's therefore impossible for him to be able to direct communications throughout the world. It would be illogical to claim as much. How can he plan in this manner and how can he move now?" he said.
"Is there really an entity called al-Qaeda? It was in Afghanistan, but is it there anymore?" Assad added.
Bureau Report
"We blame everything on al-Qaeda but what happened is more dangerous than bin Laden or al-Qaeda. We're talking about a certain ideological bloc. The issue is ideology, it's not an issue of organisations," Assad said.
"Such an ideology cannot live without a certain social base. It has to convince people and strengthen its presence. Dealing with this issue should be through a social approach not through security," which is only a "temporary remedy," he said.
Assad said the "incidents", where suicide bombers targetted compounds housing foreigners in Saudi Arabia on May 12 and the near simultaneous bombings in the heart of Morocco's business hub on May 16, were "interlinked with one ideological methodology."
"I cannot believe that bin Laden is the person able to outmanoeuvre the entire world. He cannot talk on telephones or use the Internet. It's therefore impossible for him to be able to direct communications throughout the world. It would be illogical to claim as much. How can he plan in this manner and how can he move now?" he said.
"Is there really an entity called al-Qaeda? It was in Afghanistan, but is it there anymore?" Assad added.
Bureau Report