This is what US President Donald Trump says in the TV program «Fox & Friends». Trump has previously denied previous information about the assassination plans, but now he himself confirms that this was highly relevant and a personal wish.
Bashar al-Assad has been Syria’s president since 2000.
During his presidency, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. Many have been tortured, others have been kidnapped or disappeared without a trace.
Thanks to Russia’s military intervention, Assad has been able to remain in power. After more than nine years of civil war, the country is in ruins. The suffering is enormous and millions are still on the run.
Trump: “Let’s Kill Him”
The Syrian dictator has many enemies. The United States has imposed sanctions on Assad’s brutal regime for several years, punishing the president financially.
But Assad has still managed to cling to power, much thanks to support from Iran, the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and Russia.
James Mattis and Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters / Leah Millis
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In 2017, however, he had the margins on his side. According to the book “Fear: Trump in the White House”, written by the man behind the Watergate revelation, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, Assad is said to have been close to being liquidated.
US President Donald Trump is said to have called his own Secretary of Defense, General Jim Mattis, several times. Trump’s message was clear: “Let’s kill him.”
The background for Trump’s desire to kill Assad is said to have come after a chemical attack on civilians, which upset Trump, and the world at large.
– He was a greatly overrated general
The general, however, was of a different opinion than his superior and refused to carry out the order. Thus, the Syrian dictator escaped American bullets.
Mattis became Trump’s first and United States’ 26th Secretary of Defense on January 20, 2017. He served one year and eleven months.
He disagreed with the president on several key foreign policy issues and withdrew after Trump, against Mattis’ will, announced a US withdrawal from Syria.
“He was a highly overrated general, and I let him go,” Trump said of his former defense secretary. However, he did not regret that Assad ended up saving his life.
– I had a shot to take him out if I wanted to
– I do not regret it. I could have lived with both. You know, I certainly did not consider him a good person, and I had a shot to take him out if I wanted to, but Mattis was against it., Trump says in the TV interview.
However, he recalled his “success” in taking out two of America’s declared enemies.
– I took out Soleimani, as you know, I took out al-Baghdadi. These are two of the biggest terrorists, Trump emphasized.
Video: “Mad Dog Mattis”: – Biggest threat since World War II
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