21st Century Wire says The following interview is the first western media appearance by Syrian President Bashar al Assad since Donald Trump took office in the US. In an exclusive interview with Yahoo News at the president s office in Damascus, Assad said President Trump s freeze on refugees into his country   part of an executive order that has drawn widespread protests and is being challenged in federal court    is an American issue  on which he would not take sides. But asked if some of those who fled are  aligned with terrorists,  Assad quickly replied,  Definitely. What is clear from this interview is that the President Assad has a much deeper and more realistic understanding of the real threat of terrorism, and the causes of terrorism   far and away beyond the shallow, childish rhetoric we hear on a daily basis from those US officials still openly supporting radical Islamist terrorists in Syria like US Senators like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Bob Corker and other who are still clinging to the fictional narrative of the  moderate rebel  in Syria. It is also clear that Assad has a much more intelligent handle on the concept of  safe zones  than the Trump Administration so far, as well as a better understanding of the totality of refugee issue, who Assad said is partly fuelled by the crippling sanctions imposed by the US. Watch: 