Syria says will foil Western efforts to sow chaos

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria dismissed Monday U.S. and Western criticism of Damascus and said it would defeat what it called foreign attempts to spread chaos, hours after the White House said President Bashar al-Assad had lost control and would inevitably fall from power.

"We are not surprised at the lack of wisdom or rationality of these statements and regret that they are still issued by countries that are used to making the Middle East an arena for their follies and failures," the state news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry source as saying late Monday.

"Syria, which is defending itself today against terrorism and will continue to do so, will be the exception which ... will foil the policies of chaos adopted by these countries," it said.

(By Dominic Evans; editing by Tim Pearce)