May 26, 2003 - Syria Denies Existence of Al Qaeda:
"Syrian President Bashar Assad revealed in a newspaper interview on Sunday that he does not believe there is a terrorist group called al Qaeda, the organization widely believed to be the perpetrators of the hijackings on September 11, 2001 as well as the recent attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco.
"Is there really an entity called al Qaeda? It was in Afghanistan, but is it there anymore?" Assad asked.
The Syrian leader said that it is improbable that Usama bin Laden and al Qaeda would have the resources and manpower to cause such massive devastation."
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