The chinless Syrian ophthalmologist Bashar Al-Assad, tyrannical ruler of a totalitarian state, explains terrorism; see … it’s just a state of mind.

Question: “In your opinion, what point have we reached in the struggle against international terrorism?”Al-Assad: “Any crime is terrorism, from bottom to top, up to state sponsored terrorism. But I can tell you that the campaign against terrorism has produced important results, both in Syria and in the countries that fight it. The only [problem] is that terrorism has made greater progress than our campaign against it, as it is an illusion to try and neutralize it with missiles. Terrorism is a mental state. If you do not have a rational mind, you cannot fight it. This is the problem. You could say that the campaign against terrorism, [beyond the intentions that we share], risks feeding it indirectly, by providing it with extra fuel. That’s why we are all more exposed and vulnerable to other attacks.”