“There are big powers, especially Western powers who historically never accepted the idea of other nations having their independence. They want those nations to submit to them.”  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/world/middleeast/assad-frames-syria-struggle-as-him-against-western-colonizers.html?hp The interview with Syrian president Bashir Al-Assad was conducted on Syria’s Independence Day celebrating the end of French occupation 67 years ago.“We must ask ourselves, did the colonizer take our sovereignty with him when he left?” “We mustn’t blame those (middle eastern) countries because they’re not independent; the decision is made by foreign countries.” He ridiculed what Western powers have described as humanitarian intervention in Syria as a euphemism for occupation and colonialism. “We saw their humanitarian intervention in Iraq, in Libya, and now we see it in Syria,” he said.