Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on his first visit...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on his first visit to the West since the September 11 attacks, pledged to support the battle against terrorism, but warned that a complete victory would be impossible.
"Terrorism is like corruption, omnipresent in human society," Assad said during a meeting with the mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni.
The Syrian president afterwards met Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and was believed to have encouraged Europe to play a bigger role in resolving the Middle East conflict.
Assad is eager to promote his country as a moderate force and as an example of how best to combat terrorism. However, small crowds of demonstrators have dogged his visit, accusing him of supporting Muslim militants such as Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the U.S. and Israeli governments have branded as terrorists.
As Assad left the sumptuous Rome city headquarters protesters threw themselves in front of his car, blocking its path with banners, and had to be dragged away by police.
"It is unacceptable that in the name of a holy alliance against terror, dictatorial regimes like that of Damascus should be legitimised," said Sergio D'Elia of the anti-death penalty group, Hands Off Cain.
"On the one hand Syria says it wants to fight terror and on the other it finances terrorism," he said.
Assad blames Israel for the Middle East violence, saying organisations like Hizbollah are waging legitimate resistance to Israeli occupation of Arab land.