US President Donald Trump Confirms He Wanted to Kill Bashar-Al-Assad in 2017, Then Defence Secretary Jim Mattis Opposed The Operation

Washington, September 15: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday stated that he wanted to assassinate Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad in 2017, but then dropped the idea after his then-secretary of defence Jim Mattis opposed the operation.

Speaking at the morning show Fox & Friends, Donald Trump said, I would have rather taken him out. I had him all set." Adding more, he said, as quoted by global news agency AFP, "Mattis didn't want to do it. Mattis was a highly overrated general, and I let him go." Abraham Accords Signing: As UAE, Bahrain and Israel Ink Deal, Donald Trump Says '5 or 6 More Middle East Countries' Will Sign Peace Agreement.

The latest revelations support reporting that came out in 2018 during the time when Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward published his book "Fear: Trump in the White House". The US President had denied saying this. Trump had said on September 5, 2018 -- "That was never even contemplated."

Reports claim that Donald Trump was mulling assassinating Assad following the Syrian president launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017. In his book, Woodward had written that the US President said American forces should "go in" and "kill" Assad.

Sharing more insights on the issue, Trump on Tuesday revealed that he did not regret the decision not to target Assad. He had said, "I considered him certainly not a good person, but I had a shot to take him out if I wanted and Mattis was against it," adding, "Mattis was against most of that stuff."

It is to be known that the relationship between Trump and Mattis turned sour as they disagreed on most of the issues, following which retired general who eventually resigned in late 2018. Meanwhile, Assad's rule in Syria is not seen in a good light as the Syrian strongman is accused of a series of crimes including torture, summary executions, rape and the use of chemical weapons.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2020 11:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).