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Galloway praises Syrian president
George Galloway has defended his praise of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, following a recent trip to the country.
Recall how Mr. Galloway's last good friend in the Middle East fared.
The MP for Bethnal Green said the president was a "breath of fresh air" after decades of dictatorship. During his recent trip Mr Galloway hailed the Syrian president - whose regime has faced accusations over the assassination of Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri - as the "last Arab leader". Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Galloway said: "The Arab world is ruled by dictatorships, almost without exception. Most of them are dictators who are slaves of ours.

"The Syrian regime is independent of us and that is why our government, and more particularly the US government, wants to destroy it."

He suggested that until recently the British government respected the Syrian regime, pointing out that President Assad stayed with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. "People believed that his reforming zeal and his vision of Syria as a genuinely independent Arab country....was one that was widely appreciated across Europe.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-11-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=135482