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Seymour Hersh to Al-Ahed: Syrian Army Winning War, Al-Assad to Stay in Office

Seymour Hersh to Al-Ahed: Syrian Army Winning War, Al-Assad to Stay in Office
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Ali Rizk

Renowned investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has told Al-Ahed that the Obama's administration's approach towards the conflict in Syria is "nonsense", as Obama continues to act as if there is a serious chance that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad could be forced out of office.

Seymour Hersh to Al-Ahed: Syrian Army Winning War, Al-Assad to Stay in Office

In an exclusive interview with al-Ahed, Hersh, who recently released his new book: "The Killing of Osama bin Laden", said that the Obama administration continues to insist that president al-Assad leave power despite the fact that all the evidence shows that the Syrian army is winning the war.

Hersh also asserted that there was no evidence showing that Washington was pressuring its Saudi ally to stop arming so called "moderate opposition groups" in Syria.

He further added that the American policy of arming such groups is continuing.

In parallel, the American journalist also emphasized that he had heard information of al-Nusra front gaining possession of a tank which had come from Lebanon.

On the topic of Osama bin Laden's killing, Hersh stated that the Saudi government paid Pakistan millions of dollars in order not to reveal the whereabouts of Bin Laden.

[In his book, Hersh says that Pakistan actually captured Bin Laden and placed him under house arrest before the Americans discovered where he was being held and subsequently went ahead and killed him].

Below is the interview:

Al-Ahed: Is it safe to say according to your knowledge that Hilary Clinton personally approved sending Sarin gas to armed groups fighting the Syrian government, with the aim of a false flag attack to justify US military intervention in Syria?

Hersh: I have no information linking Hillary Clinton to the approval of sarin gas shipments to the war zone, nor do I believe that there actually was any sarin in the Libyan arsenal...some of the chemical precursors, perhaps, but I just do not know.

Al-Ahed: What will US policy towards Syria look like [how do you anticipate it to be] if Clinton were to become president, especially given the fact that she was very close to David Petraeus and supported his recommendations regarding sending arms to Syria?

Hersh: Impossible to predict the future. What I can say is that at this point it is clear that the Obama administration continues to insist that Bashar al-Assad must go when all of the evidences shows that, with the help of Russia, Iran and Hizbullah, the Syrian army is winning the war...and Bashar will stay in office.

Al-Ahed: You have stated in your book that president Obama originally wanted to remove al-Assad, do you think that he now has a different view and does Obama now understand the danger of supporting the armed groups opposed to al-Assad?

Hersh: It does not matter what I, or anyone, thinks. What matters now is that Obama continues to act as if there is a serious chance that Bashar can be forced out of office... which is nonsense.

Al-Ahed: You have mentioned that Saudi Arabia continues to ramp up support for extremist groups in Syria, what is it that is stopping the Obama administration from putting pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop arming extremist groups in Syria?

Hersh: There is no evidence that the Obama administration is pressuring the Saudis to stop its support for the nonexistent 'moderate' opposition forces in Syria. The American policy of supplying arms to the "rebel opposition" is continuing.

Al-Ahed: Regarding the topic of Saudi financial assistance to Pakistan in exchange for Islamabad not disclosing the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden to the Americans, do you know for a fact that Riyadh was afraid of what Bin Laden would have revealed about his connections with Saudi officials had he been interrogated while in US custody?

Hersh: All I know is that the Saudi government paid the Pakistani military leadership many many millions of dollars to keep quiet about the capture and imprisonment of Osama bin laden.

However, it is hard not to conclude that the Saudi goal was to keep the US from interviewing Bin Laden about who financed him and why in the days before the 9/11 attacks in America. It is still not clear to my friends inside the government who did what in those attacks. Was it really bin laden, or perhaps Mohammed Atta and his colleagues in Hamburg? Just a mystery.

In separate remarks as part of an informal discussion with al-Ahed [after the Q and A], Hersh said he had heard information that al-Nusra in Syria has gotten possession of a military tank which came from Lebanon. He also remarked that the US "loves endless wars which we can't win" and that the "oil" factor is the major reason which prevents the US from exerting real pressure on Saudi Arabia.

Source: al-Ahed News, Translated and Edited by website team

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