Assad in 2010: 'I Trust Senator Kerry...I Met Him Five Times'

September 2nd, 2013 3:36 PM

As NewsBusters reported Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry when he was still a Senator dined with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2009.

In a 2010 interview, Assad said, "I trust Senator Kerry, and I think he's genuine...I met him five times."

BASHAR AL-ASSAD: I trust Senator Kerry, to start with this word. I trust Senator Kerry, and I think he’s genuine. And I met him five times. It’s not the first meeting or the second meeting. I met him five times in very difficult circumstances. So what he said, he said what he meant, what he means. But I think he’s not the one who’s going to implement. You have the administration, and you have the Congress. Anyone can put obstacles. So I think we are looking for the results. Think to date I am convinced about what he said.

The picture above was taken when Kerry met Assad in Damascus on February 21, 2009.

The following year, Kerry again met Assad as reported by the New York Times on April 1, 2010:

After his meeting with Mr. Assad, Mr. Kerry said in a statement that the United States and Syria shared “a mutual interest in having a very frank exchange on any differences that may exist, but also on the many, many agreements that we have about the possibilities of peace in this region.”

Readers are also reminded what Kerry said about Assad in 2011:

On March 16, 2011—the day after the first mass demonstration against the regime—John Kerry said Assad was a man of his word who had been "very generous with me." He added that under Assad "Syria will move; Syria will change as it embraces a legitimate relationship with the United States."

This is the same man Kerry compared to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein on Sunday's Meet the Press.

Will the Obama and Kerry-loving media report any of this?

Stay tuned.

(HT Right Pundit)