Syrian president to give speech

[No Elephants]

Syrian president to give speech

Syrian president to give speechSyrian President Bashar Assad will deliver a speech on Sunday in a rare address to the nation, state media said, as rebels fighting to topple his embattled regime pressed ahead with an offensive on the capital.

The official SANA news agency said in a brief statement Saturday that Assad will speak about the latest developments in Syria. The speech would be the first by the leader since June, and comes amid intense fighting between government troops and rebels on the outskirts of Damascus.

Assad has rarely spoken in public since the uprising against him began in March 2011. In each of his previous speeches and interviews, the president has dug in his heels even as Western powers have moved to boost the opposition in Syria's civil war.

In his last public comments, Assad vowed in an interview with Russia Today on Nov. 8 that he would "live and die in Syria."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57562271/syrian-president-to-give-speech/

I hope Bashar gets the second part of his wish very soon.

[Enthusiast]

1. Assad knows what happened to his

fellow dictators. He can read the writing on the wall.

[No Elephants]

2. You would not know that from his behavior, though.

in his shoes, I might have shipped my family to some nice Western resort when Gaddafi fell, and seen to their financial security, to the extent that I had not already done so. Then, as soon as violence started, I would have held elections.

But then, being an oppressive dictator is not, for me, a higher priority than keeping my family alive and staying alive myself.