(Image Source: Al Jazeera ) BY JOHN O’CONNOR In his first public speech in more than seven months, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad blamed Islamic extremists and Western powers for the devastating violence within the country. Sky News has more . “Bashar Al-Assad was mobbed by supporters after he called for national dialogue and a new constitution, but said the government and army would continue military operations against opposition groups in Syria.”  Al Jazeera reports Assad spoke to a packed hall at the Opera House in central Damascus. He explained to supporters … “We face foreign aggression in a new kind of way, and this kind of war is more serious and destructive than conventional wars, this war uses Syrians to attack Syrians to destroy Syria.”   According to the BBC, Assad’s speech laid out a series of steps that would provide a solution to the conflict. Assad called for … ·       Outside powers to stop arming what he called "terrorist groups" ·       The army would then halt military operations, while reserving the right to defend state interests ·       The government would then contact what he termed "Syrian individuals and political parties" to engage in a conference of national dialogue ·       The conference would try to establish a national charter that would be put to a referendum, leading to parliamentary elections and a new government A correspondent for CNN says Assad’s speech continues to show he is defiant to any outside influence on a peace plan or transitional government for Syria. “This is not the kind of rhetoric that world power really will have want to have heard from an Assad. There was no agreement on any sort of transitional plan.”   According to the United Nations, the 21-month uprising against the Assad regime has taken the lives of more than 60,000 Syrians.