Does Syria have weapons of mass destruction?
[Washington says Syria’s weapons include an advanced chemical-weapons capability and a stockpile of the nerve gas sarin.] We do not even have a nuclear reactor for peaceful means. Last summer we proposed a draft resolution for the U.N. Security Council to make the Middle East free of mass-destruction weapons. What about America’s demand that you stop providing a haven for militant Palestinian groups like Hamas and the Islamic Jihad? A few months ago, Israel used to say that Syria hosted the leaders of these organizations. But they actually killed the leaders of Hamas [Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi] in Palestine [Gaza]. In Syria, we have less than 10 individuals expelled by Israel and not invited by Syria. They came to Syria and rented a house and carried out media work to express their view. So far, we haven’t intervened in the Palestinian question—neither negatively or positively—because of our disagreements with [Yasir Arafat’s] Palestinian Authority. The U.S. role is very impo
