"Gambler" Charles Ayyoub attacks Syria and gets praise from ...MEMRI

MEMRI, here

"Why doesn't Champress talk about the hundreds of millions of dollars stolen in the past 20 years by Syrian officials, acting in coordination with Lebanese officials who are allies of Syria? Michel Aoun - who once spoke of breaking the head of Syrian president Hafez Al-Assad and of pounding a nail into the coffin of the Syrian regime, and who acted [to promote the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution] 1559 against Syria, and [even] claimed to be [the resolution's] spiritual father - has [today] become the symbol of nationalism, in Champress's eyes... I challenge any senior Syrian official [who claims to have] served Syria more than I have in the past 21 years to compete against me [in loyalty to Syria]. Even though [the Syrian officials] brought me down in the [1996] elections, and lied to me, I did not change my position - [a position of] support and love for Syria...

"[Champress] says that I have changed from a tiger into a mouse... We saw you [Syrian officials] during the investigation of [then-commissioner of the U.N. International Independent Investigation Commission on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, Detlev] Mehlis, and how you sat for hours as he interrogated you - we did not see tigers in front of Mehlis. You owe Charles Ayyoub and Al-Diyyar for their toppling of Mehlis... It was I who brought about the downfall of the Mehlis commission, which investigated the most senior Syrian officials on every tiny detail. To Champress I say: You [Syrians] faked the [results of] elections in Lebanon for 25 years. Stop interfering in the elections, let us [hold] free elections..."