‘Sociopath or new Hitler?’ Interviewer questions Assad’s mental state

[BLACKEAGLE]

Jonathan Tepperman (R) interviews President Bashar al-Assad. (Photo courtesy: Media and Communications Office, Presidency of Syria)


By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 28 January 2015

In his latest interview, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “voiced untruths with confidence,” the editor who spoke to him told NPR on Wednesday, while likening him to Hitler.

Foreign Affairs managing editor Jonathan Tepperman revealed his thoughts about Assad during his interview with the entrenched leader last week, in which Assad said he believed he was winning the Syrian war.

Assad also said he believes the Syrian people still stand with him, despite the fragmentation of the country during the country’s civil war which has lasted almost four years.

When asked by NPR whether Assad appeared “as self-confident as his word’s project,” Tepperman said that was the most “striking” aspect of the interview.

“He was extremely polite and supremely relaxed. When he would speak these wild untruths, which he had to know that I knew were false, he voiced them with unblinking, unshakable confidence. It was really striking.”

Tepperman then found himself questioning “whether [Assad] is a spectacularly competent liar and this was all being done for domestic consumption, in which case he’s merely a sociopath, or he really believes what he’s saying. This is like Hitler in his bunker when the Russians were an hour outside Berlin.”

In the past year, analysts say Assad has been positioning him as an alternative to terrorist groups such as ISIS, now controlling swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

With U.S.-led airstrikes targeting ISIS since August, Tepperman questioned whether Assad is hedging his bets on the West sidelining him as a threat.

“The West has started to send signals that it is more open to a comprised solution with Assad about how to end the war. The Assad that I made gave the impression that such a compromise is a fantasy, it’s impossible to imagine because he is convinced he is winning the war militarily and [is doing it] for the hearts and minds of the people]. He is absolutely unrepentant.”

During the interview, Assad said he did not regret any decisions he made during the course of the conflict.

As of Dec. 2, 2014, more than 200,000 lives have been lost since anti-Assad protests first erupted in March 2011.


Last Update: Wednesday, 28 January 2015 KSA 14:49 - GMT 11:49

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/med...terviewer-questions-Assad-s-mental-state.html

 

[Peninha]

Assad speaks to the media like he speaks to it's own people and he expects to world to believe his wild version of reality, but it's of course not the case.

 

[Goblinforhire]

Obviously he's a sociopath, I think the comparison to Hitler is a bit much. Assad doesn't seem to care that his country is in ruins, that the people he's supposed to be leading are now refugees, that so many are dead and that he can stop all the fighting by just stepping down.

He's still has power now and I'm sure the thought of losing it and ending up like Mubarak and Gadaffi terrifies him.

 

[dyanmarie25]

Absolutely. He's a sociopath with serious mental problems. But nothing will ever beat Hitler in terms of being evil.

 

[Redheart]

I want to believe that Assad is getting delusional. The very fact that he believes he has the support of Syrian people is sufficient evidence that he's unwilling to embrace the truth. This makes him very dangerous. Someone who believes he's winning [a war that he's losing] will use any means to attain that victory he very much desires.

 

[vegito12]

He needs to wake up and see what is really going on in his country and see, there are many who are suffering and struggling to make a living or even get food for each day and should do something about it. I think the better thing would be to step down,a nd let someone else take over and someone who is able to lead the country and do more for the people. He believes in his mind, everything is alright but it is not and is not winning the war but losing it in fact and sooner or later will have to wake up if he does not do it now.