Trump now admits he wanted to kill Syria's Assad but Mattis stopped him - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Sep 15, 2020

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump waits to speak at a roundtable rally with Latino supporters at the Arizona Grand Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona on September 14, 2020. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images) — US President Donald Trump waits to speak at a roundtable rally with Latino supporters at the Arizona Grand Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sept. 14, 2020. — BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Contradicting his past claims that assassinating Syria's president was "never discussed," US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wanted to have Bashar al-Assad killed following a suspected chemical weapons attack, but former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wouldn't let him.

"I had him all set. Mattis didn't want to do it," Trump told Fox News, adding that he didn't regret not killing Assad but would have "rather taken him out."

US President Donald Trump (3L), US First lady Melania Trump (2L), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (C), and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (3R) pose for a group photo with other leaders of the Muslim world during the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Four must-read books on Trump’s Middle East policies

Week in Review

Week in Review

Parents of detained journalist Austin Tice urge Trump to talk directly with Syrian regime

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Debra Tice, the mother of missing journalist Austin Tice, addresses a press conference January 27, 2020 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. - Tice, who spent 83 days in Syria looking for her son, reiterated the belief that he remains alive and is being held, and advocated for his release. Austin, disappeared in Syria in 2012. (Photo by EVA HAMBACH / AFP) (Photo by EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Images)

White House official traveled to Syria for secret hostage talks

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

HASAN MOHAMED/AFP via Getty Images

Probe finds Syrian air force likely used chlorine in 2018 attack

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff