Charlie Rose interviews Syrian President Bashar Assad
(CBS News) Appearing Sunday on "Face the Nation," Charlie Rose for the first time discussed sitting down with President Bashar Assad for his only television interview since President Obama asked Congress to approve a military strike against Syria.
Speaking with Bob Schieffer, the "CBS This Morning" co-host previewed the interview - held Sunday at the Presidential Palace in Damascus - which is Assad's first with an American TV network in nearly two years. Rose reported the Syrian leader addressed allegations that his regime used chemical weapons against his own people.
Rose told "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley that the Syrian dictator was "remarkably calm" during the interview.
Excerpts from Rose's interview with Assad will air at 7 a.m. EDT on "CBS This Morning." The interview will air in its entirety Monday night on "The Charlie Rose Show" on PBS.
Assad has given very few interviews with foreign news outlets since the war-torn country's two-year conflict began. His last was with France's Le Figaro newspaper, which ran Sept. 2, just as France was seriously debating whether to support a U.S. call for intervention in Syria.