Assad urges US to call off assault, promises retaliation

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied in an interview with CBS television that he was behind a chemical attack last month and called on lawmakers to reject a planned US military assault, the US network said Sunday.

But he warned that if there was a military strike by the United States, there would be retaliation by those aligned with Syria.

Assad "suggested that there would be, among people that are aligned with him, some kind of retaliation if a strike was made," CBS veteran correspondent Charlie Rose said, speaking after earlier interviewing Assad in Syria.

"He denied that he had anything to do with the [chemical] attack," Rose added. "He denied that he knew there was a chemical attack, notwithstanding what has been said and notwithstanding the videotape. He said there's not enough evidence to make a conclusive judgment."

"The most important thing, as he says, is that 'there's no evidence that I used chemical weapons against my own people'," Rose said.

The interview is to be aired on CBS on Monday.

The United States has led the charge that Assad ordered a chemical attack against the residents of a Damascus suburb on August 21, which Washington says killed some 1,400 people including about 400 children.

Graphic videos released on Saturday showed dozens of people, including children, writhing on the ground with convulsions, some apparently foaming at the mouth and vomiting as rescuers sought to help them.

 

But Assad challenged the US administration of President Barack Obama to provide the evidence.

"He said that he did not necessarily know whether there was going to be a military strike. He said that they were obviously as prepared as they could be for a strike," Rose added, citing his interview with Assad.

The Syrian leader also "had a message to the American people that it had not been a good experience for them to get involved in the Middle East in wars and conflicts," Rose said.

"The results had not been good and they should not get involved and that they should communicate to their Congress and to their leadership in Washington not to authorize a strike."

Congress is due to begin full debate this week on whether to approve Obama's plans for an attack on Syria.