Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
as saying. His comments, published by Al-Akhbar, reportedly came during meetings with Lebanese visitors in Damascus and appeared intended to refute any suggestion that Israeli raids on Syrian targets would halt assistance to the Shiite group Hezbollah in Leb. The newspaper said visitors quoted Assad as expressing "confidence, satisfaction and great gratitude towards Hezbollah." The organization is a long-time ally of the Syrian regime and has sent fighters to battle alongside Assad's troops, particularly in the Qusayr district of the central province of Homs. Damascus has long served as a supply conduit for Iran-backed Hezbollah, and Assad said they would reward the group for their loyalty. "We have decided to give them everything," the newspaper quoted him as saying, without elaborating. "For the first time we feel that we and they are living in the same situation and they are not just an ally we help with resistance," he said. "We have decided that we must move forward towards them and turn into a nation of resistance like Hezbollah, for the sake of Syria and future generations." Assad was quoted as saying Syria could "easily" respond to Israeli air strikes by "firing a few rockets at Israel." "But we want strategic Dire Revenge™, by opening the door of resistance and turning all of Syria into a country of resistance."