Syria. Paraphrasing – „I have been convinced for the LAST FIVE YEARS that Assad must go, must be removed from office.“ Well, pilgrims, five years ago was BEFORE the Syrian Civil War. Did he simply misspeak? Did he mean four years? Or, was this a Freudian slip in which he really admitted that he had decided to get rid of Assad BEFORE the civil war began? If he really did mean five years then the accusation that the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel promoted the revolt in the context of „The Arab Spring“ gains weight in the debate over the origins of the civil war.