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en.wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad ح ب

President of Syria

Incumbent

Assumed office17 July 2000

Prime Minister

Muhammad Mustafa MeroMuhammad Naji al-Otari

Adel Safar Riyad Farid Hijab

Omar Ibrahim GhalawanjiWael Nader al-Halqi

Vice President

Abdul Halim KhaddamZuhair MasharqaFarouk al-SharaaNajah al-Attar

Preceded by Abdul Halim Khaddam (Acting)

Regional Secretary of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch

Incumbent

Assumed office24 June 2000

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Deputy

Sulayman QaddahMohammed Saeed BekheitanHilal Hilal

Leader Abdullah al-Ahmar

Preceded by Hafez al-Assad

Personal details

Born

Bashar Hafez al-Assad11 September 1965 (age 49)Damascus, Syria

Political party Syrian Ba'ath Party

Other politicalaffiliations

National Progressive Front

Spouse(s) Asma al-Assad

Children

HafezZeinKarim

Alma mater Damascus University

Religion Shia Islam ( Alawite)

Website Official website

Military service

Allegiance

Syria

Service/branch Syrian Armed Forces

Years of service 1988–present

Rank

Marshal

Unit Republican Guard (Before 2000)

Commands Syrian Armed Forces

Battles/wars Syrian Civil War

Bashar Hafez al-Assad ( Arabic: ح Baššārب Ḥ āfi ẓ al- ʾAsad , pronunciation (help·info) Levantinepronunciation: [ba ʃˈʃ aːr ˈħaːfezˤ elˈʔasad]; born 11 September 1965) is the President of Syria, commander-in-chief of Syrian Armed Forces, General Secretary of the ruling Ba'ath Party and Regional Secretary of theparty's branch in Syria. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad,who led Syria for 30 years until his death.

Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988, and started to work as a doctor in thearmy. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital, in London, specializing inophthalmology. In 1994, after his elder brother Bassel was killed in a car crash, Bashar was recalled to Syria totake over Bassel's role as heir apparent. He entered the military academy, taking charge of the Syrian occupationof Lebanon in 1998. In December 2000, Assad married Asma Assad, born Akhras. Assad was reconfirmed by the

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national electorate as President of Syria in 2000 and 2007, after the People's Council of Syria had voted to

propose the incumbent uncontested each time.[2][3] The form of government Assad presides over is anauthoritarian regime. The Assad regime has described itself as secular, while experts have contended that the

regime exploits ethnic and sectarian tensions in the country to remain in power.[7][8] The regime's narrowsectarian base relying upon the Alawite minority has also been noted.

Initially seen by the domestic and international community as a potential reformer, [10] this expectation ceasedwhen Assad ordered mass crackdowns and military sieges on Arab Spring protesters, leading to the Syrian Civil

War . The Syrian opposition, the United States, Canada, the European Union and the majority of the Arab League

have called for al-Assad's resignation from the presidency.[11][12] During the Syrian Civil War, Assad was

personally implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity by the United Nations,[13] and was the top of alist of individuals indicted for the greatest responsibility in war crimes for prosecution by the International Criminal

Court.[14] In November 2014, the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced that evidence would

be brought against Assad.[15] In January 2015, it was reported that 200,000 political prisoners were in jail in Syria

for opposing the Assad regime.[16] In late April 2014, Assad announced he would run for a third term in Syria's firstmulti-candidate direct presidential election in decades, amid serious concerns by the European Union, the UnitedStates and other countries regarding the legitimacy of this vote and the effect it would have on peace talks with

the Syrian Opposition.[17][18] He was sworn in for his third seven-year term, on July 16, 2014, in the presidentialpalace in Damascus.[19]

Contents

[hide]

Early life[edit]

Childhood and education: 1965–1988[edit]

Further information: Al-Assad family

Bashar al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, the second oldest son of Aniseh and Hafez al- Assad. His last name in Arabic means "the lion"; Assad's peasant paternal grandfather had changed the familyname from Wahhish (meaning "Savage") when acquiring minor noble status in 1927. His father, born to animpoverished rural family of Alawite background, rose through the Ba'ath Party ranks to take control of the Syrianbranch of the Party in the 1970 Corrective Revolution, culminating in his rise to the Syrian presidency. Hafez al-

Assad promoted his supporters within the Ba'ath Party, many of whom were also of Alawite background.[23] After the coup, Alawite strongmen were installed and Sunni, Druze and Ismailis individuals were systematically arrestedand purged from the army and Ba'ath party.

Assad has five siblings, three of whom are deceased. A sister named Bushra died in infancy. [25] Assad's youngestbrother, Majd al-Assad, was not a public figure and virtually nothing is known about him other than he was

mentally or emotionally disabled,[26] and according to SANA he died in 2009 after a "long illness". [27] Unlike hisbrothers Bassel and Maher , and sister, Bushra, Bashar was quiet and reserved and says that he lacked interest in

politics or the military, and the Assad regime's personality cult focused on Bassel prior to his death. [26] Bashar wa

said to have been bullied by his older brother Bassel.[29] The Assad children reportedly rarely saw their father, [30]

and Bashar later stated that he only entered his father's office once while he was in power and he never spoke

about politics with him.[31] Psychologists have noted that Assad grew up in an unhealthy environment, and his

predisposition for violence stems from his early childhood development and family.[32]

He received his primary andsecondary education in the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus. In 1982, he graduated from high schooland went on to study medicine at Damascus University.

Medicine: 1988–1994[edit]

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In 1988, Assad graduated from medical school and began working as an army doctor in the biggest military

hospital, "Tishrin", on the outskirts of Damascus.[34][35] Four years later, he went to the United Kingdom to beginpostgraduate training in ophthalmology at the Western Eye Hospital, part of the St Mary's group of teachinghospitals in London. Bashar at the time had few political aspirations. His father had been grooming Bashar's older brother Bassel as the future president. Bashar, however, was recalled in 1994 to the Syrian Army, after Bassel'sdeath in a car accident.

Rise to power: 1994–2000[edit]

Soon after the death of Bassel, Hafez Assad made the decision to make Bashar the new heir-apparent. Over thenext six and half years, until his death in 2000, Hafez went about systematically preparing Bashar for taking over power. Preparations for a smooth transition were made on three levels. First, support was built up for Bashar inthe military and security apparatus. Second, Bashar's image was established with the public. And lastly, Bashar was familiarized with the mechanisms of running the country.

To establish his credentials in the military, Bashar entered in 1994 the military academy at Homs, north of

Damascus, and was propelled through the ranks to become a colonel in January 1999.[34][42] To establish a power base for Bashar in the military, old divisional commanders were pushed into retirement, and new, young, Alawite

officers with loyalties to him took their place.

Parallel to his military career, Bashar was engaged in public affairs. He was granted wide powers and became apolitical adviser to President Hafez al-Assad, head of the bureau to receive complaints and appeals of citizens,and led a campaign against corruption. As a result of his campaign against corruption, Bashar was able to remove

his potential rivals for president.[34]

In 1998, Bashar took charge of Syria's Lebanon file, which had since the 1970s been handled by Vice President Abdul Khaddam, one of the few Sunni officials in the Assad regime, who had until then been a potential contender for president. By taking charge of Syrian affairs in Lebanon, Bashar was able to push Khaddam aside andestablish his own power base in Lebanon. In that same year after minor consultation with Lebanese politicians,

Bashar installed Emile Lahoud, a loyal ally of his, as the President of Lebanon and pushed former LebanesePrime Minister Rafic Hariri aside, by not placing his political weight behind his nomination as prime minister.

To further weaken the old Syrian order in Lebanon, Bashar replaced the long serving de facto Syrian HighCommissioner of Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, with Rustum Ghazali.

Presidency[edit]

Damascus Spring and pre-Civil War: 2000–2011[edit]

Syria

This article is part of a series on thepolitics and government of Syria

Constitution[show]

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Protests in Douma, a Damascus suburb, 8 April2011

Executive[show]

Legislature[show]

Judiciary[show]

Administrative divisions[show]

Elections[show]

Foreign relations[show]

Immediately after Assad took office a reform movement made cautious advances during the Damascus Spring,which led to the shut down of Mezzeh prison and the declaration of a wide ranging amnesty releasing hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood affiliated political prisoners. However, security crackdowns commenced again within the

year.[48][49] The New York Times reported that soon after Assad assumed power, he "made Syria’s link with

Hezbollah — and its patrons in Tehran — the central component of his security doctrine.[50]"

In 2005, the former prime minister of Lebanon was assassinated. The Christian Science Monitor reported that"Syria was widely blamed for Hariri’s murder. In the months leading to the assassination, relations between Hariri

and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad plummeted amid an atmosphere of threats and intimidation.[51]" The BBC

reported in December 2005: "New Hariri report 'blames Syria.[52]'"

On 27 May 2007, Bashar was approved as president for another seven-year term, with the official result of 97.6%

of the votes in a referendum without another candidate.[53]

In his foreign policy, Assad is an outspoken critic of the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. [54] Until hbecame president, Assad was not greatly involved in politics; his only public role was head of the Syrian Computer

Society, which introduced the Internet to Syria in 2001. Al-Assad was confirmed as president by an unopposedreferendum in 2000. He was expected to take a more liberal approach than his father.

Syrian Civil War: 2011–Present[edit]

Main article: Syrian Civil War

Protests in Syria started on 26 January 2011. Protesters called for political reforms and the re-instatement of civil rights, as well as an end

to the state of emergency which had been in place since 1963.[55] Oneattempt at a "day of rage" was set for 4–5 February, though it ended

uneventfully. [56] Protests on 18–19 March were the largest to takeplace in Syria for decades and the Syrian authority responded with

violence against its protesting citizens.[57]

On 18 May 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Executiveorder putting into effect sanctions against Assad in an effort topressure his regime "to end its use of violence against its people andbegin transitioning to a democratic system that protects the rights of

the Syrian people."[58] The sanctions effectively freeze any of the Syrian President's assets either in the United

States proper or within U.S. jurisdiction.[59] On 23 May 2011, EU Foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in

Brussels to add Assad and nine other officials to a list affected by travel bans and asset freezes.[60] On 24 May

2011, Canada imposed sanctions on Syrian leaders, including Assad.[61]

On 20 June, in a speech lasting nearly an hour, in response to the demands of protesters and foreign pressure,

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Destroyed vehicles on an Aleppo street in 2012.

Pro-Assad demonstration in Lattakia, 2011

Assad promised a national dialogue involving movement toward reform, new parliamentary elections, and greater freedoms. He also urged refugees to return home from Turkey, while assuring them amnesty and blaming all

unrest on a small number of saboteurs.[62] Assad blamed the unrest on "conspiracies" and accused the Syrianopposition and protestors of "fitna", breaking with the Syrian Ba'ath Party's strict tradition of secularism.

In August, Syrian security forces attacked the country's best-knownpolitical cartoonist, Ali Farzat, a noted critic of Assad's regime and itsfive-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators and dissent.

Relatives of the severely beaten humorist told Western media that theattackers threatened to break Farzat's bones as a warning for him tostop drawing cartoons of government officials, particularly Assad.Farzat was hospitalized with fractures in both hands and blunt force

trauma to the head.[64][65]

By the end of January 2012, it was reported that over 5,000 civiliansand protesters (including armed militants) had been killed by the Syrian army, militia (Shabiha) and security

agents, while 1,100 people had been killed by the anti-regime forces.[66]

On 10 January 2012, Assad gave a speech in which he accused theuprising of being plotted by foreign countries and claimed that "victory[was] near". He also said that the Arab League, by suspending Syria,revealed that it was no longer Arab. However, Assad also said thecountry would not "close doors" to an Arab-brokered solution if "national sovereignty" was respected. He also said a referendum on a

new constitution could be held in March.[67]

On 27 February, Syria claimed that a referendum on an update to thenation's constitution, hailed as 'a showpiece of reform' received 90%support. The referendum imposes a fourteen-year cumulative term

limit for the president of Syria. The referendum has been claimed asmeaningless by foreign nations including the US and Turkey, and the European Union announced fresh sanctions

against key regime figures.[68] On 16 July 2012, Russia voicing concern at the blackmail on Syria by the westernnations, laid to rest any speculations that it was distancing itself from Assad. Moscow also vowed not to allow a

UN resolution pass that aims at sanctions against Syria.[69]

On 15 July 2012, the International Committee of the Red Cross had officially declared Syria to be in a state of civil

war,[70] as the nationwide death toll for all sides was reported to have neared 20,000. [71]

Assad gave several TV interviews during the Syrian crisis, appearing on Syria TV, Addounia TV, Syrian News

Channel, RT, Russia-24, Fox News, ABC, ARD and Ulusal Kanal.

On 6 January 2013, Assad, in his first major speech since June, said that the conflict in his country was due to"enemies" outside of Syria who would "go to Hell" and that they would "be taught a lesson". However he said thathe was still open to a political solution saying that failed attempts at a solution "does not mean we are not

interested in a political solution."[72][73]

After the fall of four regime military bases in September 2014,[74] which were the last government footholds in

Raqqa province, Assad received significant criticism from his Alawite base of support.[75] This included remarksand symbolic gestures made by Douraid al-Assad, cousin of Bashar al-Assad, demanding the resignation of theSyrian Defence Minister following the massacre by the Islamic State of hundreds of regime troops captured after

the ISIS victory at Tabqa Air base.[76] This was shortly followed by Alawite protests in Homs demanding the

resignation of the governor,[77] and the dismissal of Assad's cousin Hafez Makhlouf from his security position

leading to his subsequent exile to Belarus.[78] Growing resentment towards Assad among Alawites is fuelled by

the disproportionate number of soldiers killed in fighting hailing from Alawite areas,[79] a sense that the Assad

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regime has abandoned them,[80] as well as the failing economic situation exacerbated by government

corruption.[81] Figures close to the Assad regime have begun voicing concerns regarding the likelihood of itssurvival, with one recently stating; "I don’t see the current situation as sustainable ... I think Damascus will

collapse at some point."[74]

After a 20 January 2015 interview with Foreign Policy, the editor who conducted the interview, JonathanTepperman, told NPR that Assad "voiced untruths with confidence", and questioned “whether [Assad] is aspectacularly competent liar and this was all being done for domestic consumption, in which case he’s merely a

sociopath, or he really believes what he’s saying. This is like Hitler in his bunker when the Russians were an hour

outside Berlin".[82] Tepperman further stated that he believed a political compromise with Assad was impossible,as Assad remains as "unrepentant and inflexible" as when the Syrian Civil War began and is convinced he is

winning the war militarily despite "seem[ing] to have no idea how badly the war is going".[83]

Several members of the Assad family who were once considered untouchable have died in Latakia under unclear

circumstances.[84] On 14 March 2015, an influential cousin of Bashar Assad and founder of the shabiha,Mohammed Toufic Assad, was assassinated with five bullets to the head in a dispute over influence in Qardaha.The village is the ancestral home of the Assad family, and the cousin had been previously injured in a dispute in

2012, raising questions about the Assad family's influence in the pro regime bastion.[85] In April 2015 Assad

ordered the arrest of his cousin Munther al-Assad in Alzirah, Lattakia.[86]

Syria under Bashar Assad's rule[edit]

Economy[edit]

See also: Economy of Syria

As a result of the Syrian Civil War, "government-controlled Syria is truncated in size, battered and

impoverished".[87] Economic sanctions (the Syria Accountability Act ) were applied long before the Syrian Civil War

by the United States, and were joined by the European Union and other countries at the outbreak of the civil war,causing the regime to slowly disintegrate.[88] These sanctions were reinforced in October 2014 by the EU and

US.[89][90] Industry in parts of the country that are still Assad regime held is heavily state-controlled, with economi

liberalization being reversed during the current conflict.[91] The London School of Economics has stated that as a

result of the Syrian Civil War, a war economy has developed in Syria. [92]

A 2014 European Council on Foreign Relations report found that:

"The Syrian economy lies in ruins. Assets and infrastructure have been destroyed, half of the

population lives below the poverty line, and the human development index has fallen back to where

it stood 37 years ago. It is estimated that even with average annual growth rate of 5 percent it

would take nearly 30 years to recover Syria’s 2010 GDP value."

—Jihad Yazigi [93]

A United Nations commissioned report by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research states that two thirds of the Syria

population now lives in "extreme poverty".[94] Unemployment stands at 50 percent. [95] In October 2014 a $50million mall opened in Tartus provoked criticism from regime supporters, and was seen as part of the Assad

regime's policy of attempting to project a sense of normalcy throughout the civil war.[96] A regime policy to givepreference to families of slain soldiers for government jobs was cancelled after it caused an uproar,[79] while rising

fuel prices and corruption caused protests in regime controlled areas.[81] In December 2014 the EU banned sales

of jet fuel to the Assad regime, forcing the regime to buy more expensive uninsured jet fuel shipments in future.[97]

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Economic ties with ISIL[edit]

Since 2014, the Assad regime has bought oil directly from ISIL. [98] A business man operating in both regime andISIL controlled territory has stated; “Honestly speaking, the regime has always had dealings with ISIS, out of

necessity.”[99] Rising fuel prices were exacerbated by the airstrikes of the American-led intervention in Syria onISIS controlled oil fields, as the Assad regime was no longer able to buy oil from ISIS at favorable rates, thus

forcing the regime further into survival mode.[95]

No longer able to directly purchase oil from ISIL, the regime now relies on a network of middle men, with oilworkers in ISIL held areas remaining on the payrole of the Syrian Oil Ministry. George Haswan—a Syrian-Greekcitizen and owner of HESCO, one of the largest engineering companies operating in Syria—has direct access to

Assad and negotiates oil and gas contracts between the Assad regime and ISIL.[100] As a result of further EUeconomic sanctions in March 2015, it came to light that the Assad regime and ISIL joinly run a HESCO gas plantin Tabqa, central Syria. The facility continues to supply regime held areas, and electricity continues to be supplied

to ISIL held areas from regime power plants.[101]

Human rights[edit]

See also: Human rights in Syria

A 2007 law required internet cafes to record all the comments users post on chat forums. [102] Websites such asWikipedia Arabic, YouTube and Facebook were blocked intermittently between 2008 and February

2011.[103][104][105]

Human Rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have detailed how the Assadsregime's secret police routinely tortured, imprisoned, and killed political opponents, and those who speak out

against the regime.[106][107] Since 2006 it expanded the use of travel bans against dissidents. In that regard, Syria

is the worst offender among Arab states.[108] The Syrian mukhabarat is Alawite dominated.

In an interview with ABC News in 2007 he stated: "We don't have such [things as] political prisoners," yet the NeYork Times reported the arrest of 30 Syrian political dissidents who were organizing a joint opposition front inDecember 2007, with 3 members of this group considered to be opposition leaders being remanded in

custody.[110] Foreign Policy magazine editorialized on his position in the wake of the 2011 protests: [111]

"During its decades of rule... the Assad family developed a strong political safety net by firmly integrating thmilitary into the government. In 1970, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, seized power after rising through theranks of the Syrian armed forces, during which time he established a network of loyal Alawites by installingthem in key posts. In fact, the military, ruling elite, and ruthless secret police are so intertwined that it is now

impossible to separate the Assad government from the security establishment.... So... the government andits loyal forces have been able to deter all but the most resolute and fearless oppositional activists. In thisrespect, the situation in Syria is to a certain degree comparable to Saddam Hussein’s strong Sunni minorityrule in Iraq."

In 2010, Syria banned face veils at universities. [112][113] Following the uprising against Assad rule in 2011, Assad

partially relaxed the veil ban.[114]

The FBI has said that at least 10 European citizens were tortured by the Assad regime while detained during theSyrian Civil War, potentially leaving Assad open to prosecution by individual European countries for war crimes

committed under his rule.[115] Stephen Rapp, the United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, has

argued that Assad's crimes are the worst seen since those of Nazi Germany.[116] In March 2015, Rapp further stated that the case against Syrian President Bashar Assad is "much better" than those against Slobodan

Milosevic of Serbia or Charles Taylor of Liberia, both of whom were indicted by international tribunals.[117]

In a February 2015 interview with the BBC, Assad described the use of barrel bombs by the Syrian Arab Air Force

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as "childish", claiming that his forces have never used these types of bombs and responding with a joke about not

using "cooking pots" either.[118] The BBC Middle East editor conducting the interview, Jeremy Bowen, later

described Assad's claim regarding barrel bombs as "patently not true".[119] The Syrian Arab Air Force's use of

barrel bombs is well documented.[120]

In March 2015 a report published by Physicians for Human Rights documented that the Assad regime wasresponsible for the vast majority of the deaths of 600 medical workers since the Syrian Civil War began; 88% of

recorded attacks on hospitals and 97% of killings of medical workers were attributed to Assad's forces.[121]

Foreign relations[edit]

The Middle East Quarterly noted that "As in the case of Iraq, there are lingering questions of Syrian payments toFrench politicians. Many French politicians join associations and charitable boards both for financial and political

gain."[122][clarification needed ]

The United States, European Union, the March 14 Alliance , Israel, and France accuse Assad of providing practicasupport to militant groups active against Israel and against opposition political groups. The latter category would

include most political parties other than Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.[123] According to the Middle East

Media Research Institute, Assad claimed the United States could benefit from the Syrian experience in fightingorganizations like the Muslim Brotherhood at the Hama Massacre.[124]

Assad opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite a long-standing animosity between the Syrian and Iraqigovernments. Assad used Syria's seat in one of rotating positions on the United Nations Security Council to try to

prevent the invasion of Iraq.[125] Following the Iraq invasion by US and allied forces, Assad was accused of supporting the Shia insurgency in Iraq. A US general accused him of providing funding, logistics, and training to

Iraqi and foreign Shia fundamentalists to launch attacks against U.S. and allied forces occupying Iraq.[126]

Assad argued that Syria's gradual withdrawal of troops from Lebanon, beginning in 2000, was precipitated as a

result of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and ended in May 2005.[127]

Assad met with U.S. scientists and policy leaders during a science diplomacy visit in 2009 and he expressedinterest in building research universities and using science and technology to promote innovation and economic

growth.[128]

At the outset of the Arab Spring, Syrian state media focused primarily upon Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, demonizinghim as pro U.S. and comparing him unfavorably with Assad. Assad told the Wall Street Journal in this same periodthat he considered himself "anti-Israel" and "anti-West", and that because of these policies he was not in danger o

being overthrown.[54]

While hosting an 8 March 2015 delegation from North Korea lead by North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign AffairsSin Hong Chol, Assad stated that Syria and North Korea were being "targeted" because they are "among those

few countries which enjoy real independence".[130]

Involvement in Lebanon[edit]

According to evidence testified to at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, during a meeting with Rafic Hariri at thePresidential Palace in Damascus in 2004 Assad threatened that "I will break Lebanon over your [Hariri's] headand over Walid Jumblatt's head" if Émile Lahoud was not allowed to remain in office despite Hariri's objections; it

is thought this event is linked to Hariri's subsequent assassination.[131]

Rafik Hariri’s attempts to reduce tensionswith Syria were considered a “mockery” by Assad, journalist and ad-hoc Lebanese-Syrian intermediary Ali

Hamade stated before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in early 2015.[132]

Despite gaining re-election in 2007, Assad’s position was considered by some to have been weakened by the

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withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon following the Cedar Revolution in 2005. There has also been pressurefrom the U.S. concerning claims that Syria is linked to terrorist networks, exacerbated by Syrian condemnation of the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah military leader, in Damascus in 2008. Interior Minister Bassam

Abdul-Majeed stated that, "Syria, which condemns this cowardly terrorist act, expresses condolences to the marty

family and to the Lebanese people."[133]

Arab–Israeli conflict[edit]

In a speech about the 2006 Lebanon War in August 2006, Assad said that Hezbollah had "hoisted the banner of

victory," hailing its actions as a "successful resistance."[134]

In April 2008, Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year,with Turkey as a go-between. This was confirmed in May 2008, by a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister EhudOlmert. As well as a peace treaty, the future of the Golan Heights is being discussed. Assad was quoted in TheGuardian as telling the Qatari paper:

... there would be no direct negotiations with Israel until a new US president takes office. The US

was the only party qualified to sponsor any direct talks, [Assad] told the paper, but added that theBush administration "does not have the vision or will for the peace process. It does not have

anything." [135]

According to leaked American cables, Assad called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to beeffective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have todeal with the reality of their presence," comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed bhis father Hafez al-Assad. He then claimed Hamas would disappear if peace was brought to the Middle

East.[136][137]

Assad has indicated that the peace treaty that he envisions would not be the same kind of peace treaty Israel haswith Egypt where there is a legal border crossing and open trade. In a 2006 interview with Charlie Rose, Assadsaid "There is a big difference between talking about a peace treaty and peace. A peace treaty is like a permanentceasefire. There's no war, maybe you have an embassy, but you actually won’t have trade, you won't have normalrelations because people will not be sympathetic to this relation as long as they are sympathetic with thePalestinians: half a million who live in Syria and half a million in Lebanon and another few millions in other Arab

countries."[127]

During the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in 2001, Assad requested an apology to Muslims for the medievalCrusades and criticised Israeli treatment of Palestinians. Comparing their suffering to that endured by Jesus Chris

in Palestine, Assad claimed that followers of Judaism "tried to kill the principles of all religions with the samementality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet

Muhammad."[138][139][140][141][142] Responding to claims that his comment was antisemitic, Assad said thatwhereas Judaism is a racially heterogeneous religion, the Syrian people are the core of the Semitic race andtherefore are opposed to the term antisemitism. When offered to retract his comment implying that the Jews wereresponsible for Jesus' suffering, Assad replied, "As always, these are historical facts that we cannot deny," and

stressed that his remarks were not anti-Jewish.[143] In February 2011, Bashar backed an initiative to restore 10

synagogues in Syria, which had a Jewish community numbering 30,000 in 1947 but has only 200 Jews today.[144]

Al Qaeda and ISIL[edit]

Further information: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant § Allegations of Syrian support

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Syrian Arab Armed Forces "counter-terrorism operations": Jan 1–Nov 21, 2014[145]

Attacks against ISIL (6%)

Attacks against other groups (FSA, etc.) (94%)

Assad's relationship with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and theLevant has been subject to much attention. Terrorism expert Peter R.Neumann has stated that "In the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and

his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured andmanipulated to serve the Syrian government’s aims".[146] During the Iraq War,the Assad regime was accused of training jihadis and facilitating their passageinto Iraq, with these infiltration routes remaining active until the Syrian Civil War; US general Jack Keane hasstated that "Al Qaeda fighters who are back in Syria, I am confident, they are relying on much they learned inmoving through Syria into Iraq for more than five years when they were waging war against the U.S. and Iraq

Security Assistance Force".[147] Iraqi president Nouri al-Maliki threatened Assad with an international tribunal over the matter, and ultimately lead to the 2008 Abu Kamal raid and United States airstrikes within Syria during the Iraq

War.[148]

During the Syrian Civil War, multiple parties in the conflict have accused Assad of collusion with ISIL to somedegree. Several sources have claimed that ISIL prisoners were strategically released from Syrian prisons at the

beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.[149] The Assad regime has bought oil directly from both ISIS and Al

Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front.[98] United States Secretary of State John Kerry has stated that the Assad regime

has tactically avoided ISIL forces in order to weaken moderate opposition such as the Free Syrian Army ,[150] aswell as "even purposely ceding some territory to them [ISIS] in order to make them more of a problem so he can

make the argument that he is somehow the protector against them".[151] An IHS Jane's Terrorism and InsurgencyCenter database analysis confirmed that only a small percentage of Assad regime attacks were targeted at ISIL in

2014.[145] The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces has stated that the Assad

regime has operatives inside ISIS,[152] as has the leadership of Ahrar ash-Sham.[153] ISIS members captured by

the FSA have claimed that they were directed to commit attacks by Assad regime operatives.[154]

The U.K.’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Lyall Grant concluded at the outset of the American-led

coalition intervention in Syria that "ISIS is a monster that the Frankenstein of Assad has largely created". [155]

French President Francois Hollande stated regarding the airstrikes, "Assad cannot be a partner in the fight against

terrorism, he is the de facto ally of jihadists".[156] Analyst Noah Bonsey of the International Crisis Group hassuggested that ISIL are politically expedient for Assad, as "the threat of ISIS provides a way out [for Assad]because the regime believes that over time the U.S. and other countries backing the opposition will eventuallyconclude that the regime is a necessary partner on the ground in confronting this jihadi threat", while Robin Wrightof the Middle East studies at the Wilson Center has stated "the outside world’s decision to focus on ISIS has

ironically lessened the pressure on Assad. And he’s getting away literally with murder on a daily basis".[157]

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi disputes such assertions, arguing that "ISIS has a record of fighting the regime onmultiple fronts", many rebel factions have engaged in oil sales to the Syrian regime because it is "now largelydependent on Iraqi oil imports via Lebanese and Egyptian third-party intermediaries", and while "the regime is

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Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner was sheltered inSyria by both Bashar Assad and his father Hafezal-Assad

focusing its airstrikes [on areas] where it has some real expectations of advancing" claims that it "has not hit ISISstrongholds" are "untrue". He concluded: "Attempting to prove an ISIS-regime conspiracy without any conclusiveevidence is unhelpful, because it draws attention away from the real reasons why ISIS grew and gained such

prominence: namely, rebel groups tolerated ISIS."[158]

Public and personal life[edit]

International support[edit]

Far-right[edit]

Assad has attracted support from the far-right both before and duringthe Syrian Civil War. Former leader of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke

hosted a televised speech on Syrian national television in 2005.[159]

The Ukrainian far right figure Georgy Shchokin was invited to Syria in2006 by the Syrian foreign minister and awarded a medal by the Ba'athparty, while Shchokin's institution the Interregional Academy of

Personnel Management awarded Assad with an honorary doctorate. In2014, research by the Simon Wiesenthal Center concluded thatBashar al-Assad had, like his father Hafez al-Assad, sheltered Naziwar criminal Alois Brunner in Syria. Brunner was Adolf Eichmann’s toplieutenant and was believed to have advised the Assad regime on

torture techniques[161] and on purging Syria's Jewish community.[162]

Brunner is thought to have died in Syria of natural causes in 2010.

The National Front in France has been a prominent supporter of Assad

since the civil war,[163] as has the former leader of the neo-fascist Third

Way (Troisième voie) organization.[159] In Italy, the far right partiesForza Nuova and CasaPound have both been supportive of Assad,with Forza Nuova putting up pro-Assad posters and the party's leader praising Assad's commitment to the ideology of Arab nationalism in

2013,[164] while CasaPound has issued statements of support for Assad. [165] Syrian Social Nationalist Party

representative Ouday Ramadan has worked in Italy to organize support movements for Assad.[166] The National

Revival of Poland also has a positive view of the Assad regime. [159] The Greek Neo-Nazi political party Golden

Dawn has spoken out in favor of the Assad regime, [167] and the more radical Strasserist group Black Lily hasclaimed to have sent mercenaries to Syria to fight alongside the Syrian regime, specifically mentioning their

participation in the Battle of al-Qusayr .[168]

Far-right politician Nick Griffin, the former leader of the British National Party, has been chosen by the Assadregime to represent the United Kingdom as an ambassador and at regime-held conferences; Griffin had been an

official guest of the Assad regime three times since the outbreak of the civil war.[169] The European Solidarity Fronfor Syria, representing several extreme right political groups from across Europe, has had their delegationsreceived by the Syrian national parliament, with one particular delegation being met by Syrian head of parliament

Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, Prime Minister Wael Nader Al-Halqi and Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.[166]

Most recently, Assad met with Filip Dewinter of the Belgian far-right party Vlaams Belang.[170]

Left-wing[edit]

Left wing support for Assad has been split since the start of the Syrian Civil War; the Assad regime has beenaccused of cynically manipulating sectarian identity and anti-imperialism to continue its worst activities. Before theCivil War, British Member of Parliament George Galloway said of Bashar al-Assad, and the country he leads,during a visit to the University of Damascus in November 2005: "For me he is the last Arab ruler, and Syria is the

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last Arab country. It is the fortress of the remaining dignity of the Arabs,"[173] and a "breath of fresh air,"[174]

Galloway later criticized the Assad regime at the outset of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, dismissing the Assad

regime's "gross distortions" regarding the uprising.[175]

Hadash has expressed support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad. [176] The leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, reiterated his full support for the Syrian people in their struggle for peace andreiterates its strong condemnation of "the destabilizing actions that are still in Syria, with encouragement from

members of NATO".

[177]

The leader of the National Liberation Front, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has sent a cable of congratulations to President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, on the occasion of winning the presidential elections.[178]

The leader of the People's Progressive Party, Donald Ramotar , said that al-Assad's win in the presidential electio

is a great victory for Syria.[179] The leader of the African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, congratulated al-Assad

on winning the presidential elections.[180] The leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, Daniel Ortega,has said that President al-Assad's victory [in the presidential elections] is an important step to "attain peace inSyria and a clear cut evidence that the Syrian people trust their president as a national leader and support his

policies which aim at maintaining Syria's sovereignty and unity".[181] The Popular Front for the Liberation of

Palestine supports the Assad regime. [182][183] The leader of Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, has said that electingPresident al-Assad means "preserving Syria’s unity and sovereignty and that it will help end the crisis and confron

terrorism, wishing prosperity and safety to Syria".[184][185][186]

International public relations[edit]

In order to promote their image and media-portrayal overseas, Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad hired

American and United Kingdom based PR firms and consultants.[187] Notably, these secured photoshoots for Asmaal-Assad with fashion and celebrity magazines. These firms included Bell Pottinger Group and Brown Lloyd

James, with the latter being paid $5,000 a month for their services.[187][188]

At the outset of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian government networks were hacked by the group Anonymous,

revealing that an ex- Al Jazeera journalist had been hired to advise Assad on how to manipulate the public opinionof the United States. Among the advice was the suggestion to compare the popular uprising against the regime to

the Occupy Wall Street protests.[189] In a separate e-mail leak several months later by the Supreme Council of theSyrian Revolution, it was revealed that Assad's consultants had coordinated with an Iranian government media

advisor.[190]

After the Syrian Civil War began, the Assad regime began a social media campaign which included an online

presence on Facebook, YouTube, and most notably Instagram.[188] A Twitter account for Assad was reportedly

activated, however it remained unverified.[191] This resulted in much criticism, and was described as "a

propaganda campaign that ultimately has made the [Assad] family look worse".[192] The Assad regime has

arrested and forced disappeared pro-regime activists for creating Facebook groups that the regime disprovedof,[75] as well as appealed directly to Twitter to remove accounts it disliked. [193] The social media campaign aswell as the previously leaked e-mails lead to comparisons with Hannah Arendt's A Report on the Banality of

Evil .[194][195][196] In 2013, Assad's 11 year old son made a post on Facebook calling American soldiers "cowardswith new technology" and claiming that Syria would beat America "just like Hezbollah defeated Israel" if they

attacked.[197]

In the Summer of 2014, the Syrian Ministry of Defense provided photos to the Material Evidence. Syria. Ukraine

exhibition that took place in Berlin and New York City,[198] a self described "photo journalism" exhibition critical of democracy efforts in Ukraine and Syria that sought to ask questions such as "Who is taking advantage of the

Syrian war and of what happened to this country?".[199]

In October 2014, images from some 27,000 photographs of torture committed by the Assad regime and smuggledout of the country by a Syrian Army defector during the Syrian Civil war were put on display at the United States

Holocaust Memorial Museum.[200][201] The lawyers were hired to write the report by the British law firm Carter-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Holocaust_Memorial_Museumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Ministry_of_Defensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichmann_in_Jerusalemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Arendthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_disappearancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagramhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTubehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Council_of_the_Syrian_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Streethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_Jameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Pottinger_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_al-Assadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bashar_al-Assad&action=edit&section=20&editintro=Template:BLP_editintrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Abbashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Front_for_the_Liberation_of_Palestinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ortegahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista_National_Liberation_Fronthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Zumahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_National_Congresshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Ramotarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Progressive_Party_(Guyana)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelaziz_Bouteflikahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Liberation_Front_(Algeria)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_Madurohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Socialist_Party_of_Venezuelahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadash


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Ruck, which in turn was funded by the Government of Qatar.[202]

In November 2014, the Quilliam Foundation reported that a propaganda campaign launched "with the full backingof Assad" spread false reports of European jihadist deaths in order to draw attention away from Assad regime war crimes. Using a picture of a Chechen fighter from the Second Chechen War , pro-Assad media reportsdisseminated to Western media outlets leading them to publish a false story regarding the death of a non existent

British jihadist.[203]

Personal life[edit]

Assad speaks fluent English and basic conversational French, having studied at the Franco-Arab al-Hurriyah

school in Damascus.[204] In December 2000, Assad married Asma Assad, born Akhras, [205] a British citizen of

Syrian origin, from Acton, London.[206] In 2001, they became the parents of their first-born child, named Hafez

after the child's grandfather Hafez al-Assad. Zein was born in 2003 and Karim in 2004. [25] Bashar Assad's sister

Bushra al-Assad and mother Anisa al-Assad fled to the United Arab Emirates in 2012 and 2013 respectively.[25]

Gallery[edit]

Honours and awards[edit]

Award or decoration Country Date Place Note Ref

Benemerenti medal

VaticanCity

21March2004

Damascus Second highest Vaticanmedal.

[207]

Knight Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of Francis I

TwoSicilies

21March2004

Damascus Dynastic order of the Houseof Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

[208][209]

Gold Benemerenti Medalof the Sacred MilitaryConstantinian Order of Saint George Two

Sicilies

21March2004

Damascus Highest medal for merit tothe Sacred MilitaryConstantinian Order of St.George

[208][209]

Knight Grand Cross withCollar of the Order of Meritof the Italian Republic

Italy

11March2010

Damascus Highest ranking honour of the Republic of Italy.Revoked by the President of the Republic on 28September 2012 for "indignity".[210]

[211]

Collar of the Order of theLiberator

Venezuela

28 June2010

Caracas Highest Venezuelan stateorder.

[212]

Grand Cross of theNational Order of theSouthern Cross

Brazil

30 June2010

Brasília Brazil's highest order of merit.

[213]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bras%C3%ADliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Southern_Crosshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Liberatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Merit_of_the_Italian_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Two_Sicilieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Military_Constantinian_Order_of_Saint_Georgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bourbon-Two_Sicilieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynastic_order_of_knighthoodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Two_Sicilieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Order_of_Francis_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benemerenti_medalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bashar_al-Assad&action=edit&section=23&editintro=Template:BLP_editintrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bashar_al-Assad&action=edit&section=22&editintro=Template:BLP_editintrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafez_al-Assadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acton,_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_al-Assadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bashar_al-Assad&action=edit&section=21&editintro=Template:BLP_editintrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chechen_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilliam_(think_tank)


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Grand Cordon of theNational Order of theCedar

Lebanon

31 July2010

Beirut Second highest honour of Lebanon.

[214]

High Medal of Honor of theIslamic Republic of Iran

Iran

2October 2010

Tehran Highest national medal of Iran.

[215][216]

See also[edit]

Syria portal

Council of Ministers (Syria)

List of current heads of state and government

References[edit]

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4. Jump up ^ Meuse, Alison (18 April 2015). "Syria's Minorities: Caught Between Sword Of ISIS And Wrath of Assad". NPR. Retrieved 19 April 2015. "Karim Bitar, a Middle East analyst at Paris think tank IRIS [...] says[...] "Minorities are often used as a shield by authoritarian regimes, who try to portray themselves asprotectors and as a bulwark against radical Islam.""

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13. Jump up ^ "UK's William Hague attacks Assad's Syria elections plan". BBC News. 15 May 2014. Retrieved13 March 2015.

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18. Jump up ^ Dow, Nicole (18 July 2012). "Getting to know Syria's first family" . CNN. Retrieved 14 March2015.

19. Jump up ^ Ciezadlo, Annia (19 December 2013). "Bashar Al Assad: An Intimate Profile of a MassMurderer". The New Republic. Retrieved 14 March 2015.

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22. Jump up ^ Seifert, Kathryn (16 September 2013). "How Bashar al-Assad Became A Brutal Dictator" .Psychology Today. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

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25. Jump up ^ "CNN Transcript - Breaking News: President Hafez Al-Assad Assad of Syria Confirmed Dead" .CNN. 10 June 2000. Retrieved 3 August 2010.

26. Jump up ^ Wikstrom, Cajsa. "Syria: 'A kingdom of silence '". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 14 March 2015.

27. Jump up ^ Ghadry, Farid N. (Winter 2005). "Syrian Reform: What Lies Beneath" . Middle East Quarterly.Retrieved 14 March 2015.

28. Jump up ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html

29. Jump up ^ The Christian Science Monitor. "Rafik Hariri: In Lebanon, assassination reverberates 10 yearslater". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 20 April 2015.

30. Jump up ^ "BBC NEWS - Middle East - New Hariri report 'blames Syria '". Retrieved 20 April 2015.

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33. Jump up ^ "Q&A: Syrian activist Suhair Atassi". Al Jazeera. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on12 February 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.

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36. Jump up ^ "Administration Takes Additional Steps to Hold the Government of Syria Accountable for ViolentRepression Against the Syrian People". United States Department of the Treasury . Retrieved 18 May 2011."Today, President Obama signed an Executive Order ( E.O. 13573) imposing sanctions against SyrianPresident Bashar al-Assad and six other senior officials of the Government of Syria in an effort to increasepressure on the Government of Syria to end its use of violence against its people and to begin a transitionto a democratic system that protects the rights of the Syrian people."

37. Jump up ^ Oweis, Khaled Yacoub (18 May 2011). "U.S. imposes sanctions on Syria's Assad". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2015. "The U.S. move, announced by theTreasury Department, freezes any of the Syrian officials' assets that are in the United States or otherwisefall within U.S. jurisdiction and generally bars U.S. individuals and companies from dealing with them."

38. Jump up ^ "EU imposes sanctions on President Assad". BBC News. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 March2015.

39. Jump up ^ "Canada imposes sanctions on Syrian leaders". BBC News. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 14 March2015.

40. Jump up ^ "Speech of H.E. President Bashar al-Assad at Damascus University on the situation in Syria" .Syrian Arab News Agency . 21 June 2011.

41. Jump up ^ Nour Ali (25 August 2011). "Syrian forces beat up political cartoonist Ali Ferzat" . The Guardian(London). Retrieved 4 March 2012.

42. Jump up ^ "Prominent Syrian Cartoonist Attacked, Beaten" . Voice of America . 25 August 2011 . Retrieved 4March 2012.

43. Jump up ^ Khaled Yacoub Oweis (13 December 2011). "Syria death toll hits 5,000 as insurgencyspreads". Reuters.

44. Jump up ^ "Syria's Assad blames 'foreign conspiracy'". BBC News. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10January 2012.

45. Jump up ^ Martin Chulov in Beirut (27 February 2012). "Syria claims 90% of voters backed reforms in

referendum". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 4 March 2012.46. Jump up ^ Aneja, Atul (17 July 2012). "Russia backs Assad as fighting in Damascus escalates" . The

Hindu (Chennai).

47. Jump up ^ "Syria in civil war, Red Cross says". BBC News (BBC). 15 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.

48. Jump up ^ "Syrian death toll tops 19,000, say activists" . The Guardian (London). 22 July 2012. Retrieved31 July 2012.

49. Jump up ^ "Al-Assad: Enemies of Syria 'will go to hell'". CNN. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January2013.

50. Jump up ^ Listening Post (6 January 2012). "Syrian Live Blog". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 25 January 2013.

51. ^ Jump up to: a b "Bashar Assad may be weaker than he thinks" . The Economist. October 16, 2012.Retrieved October 16, 2014. "In Latakia and Tartus, two coastal cities near the Alawite heartland, posters of missing soldiers adorn the walls. When IS took over four government bases in the east of the country thissummer, slaughtering dozens of soldiers and displaying some of their heads on spikes in Raqqa, IS’sstronghold, families started to lose faith in the government. A visitor to the region reports hearing one mancomplain: "We’re running out of sons to give them.""

52. ^ Jump up to: a b Dziadosz, Alexander; Heneghan, Tom. "Pro-government Syrian activist arrested after rarepublic dissent". Reuters. Retrieved 23 September 2014.

53. Jump up ^ Westhall, Syliva. "Assad's army stretched but still seen strong in Syria's war" . Reuters.Retrieved 23 September 2014.

54. Jump up ^ Hadid, Diaa. "Activists Say Assad Supporters Protest in Syria" . Associated Press. Retrieved 3October 2014.

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55. Jump up ^ Aziz, Jean (October 16, 2014). "Assad dismisses security chief of powerful 'Branch 40'". AlMonitor. Retrieved October 16, 2014.

56. ^ Jump up to: a b Hadid, Diaa (November 1, 2014). "Syria's Alawites Pay Heavy Price as They Bury Sons" . Associated Press. Retrieved November 1, 2014.

57. Jump up ^ "Car bomb wounds 37 in government-held area of Syria's Homs" . Reuters. October 29, 2014.Retrieved November 9, 2014.

58. ^ Jump up to:

a

b

"Alawites find their voice against Assad" . Al Monitor. October 29, 2014 . RetrievedNovember 1, 2014.

59. Jump up ^ "‘Sociopath or new Hitler?’ Interviewer questions Assad’s mental state" . Al Arabiya. January 28,2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.

60. Jump up ^ Tepperman, Jonathan (January 30, 2015). "I interviewed Bashar al-Assad about Syria’s civilwar. He’s still too delusional to end it.". Washington Times. Retrieved January 30, 2015.

61. Jump up ^ Sherlock, Ruth (7 April 2015). "In Syria's war, Alawites pay heavy price for loyalty to Bashar al- Assad". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

62. Jump up ^ "Assad relative assassinated in Syria: activists" . The Daily Star. AFP. 15 March 2015 . Retrieved

15 March 2015.63. Jump up ^ Alajlan, Anas (14 April 2015). "Syria: Bashar al-Assad arrests own cousin Munther 'for

kidnapping links'". International Business Times. Retrieved 15 April 2015.

64. Jump up ^ Hadid, Diaa (November 2, 2014). "Assad's Syria Truncated, Battered, but Defiant". Abc News.Retrieved November 2, 2014.

65. Jump up ^ "Syria 'disintegrating under crippling sanctions'". BBC News. February 19, 2012. RetrievedNovember 2, 2014.

66. Jump up ^ Croft, Adrian (October 21, 2014). "EU targets ministers, UAE firm in latest Syria sanctions".Reuters. Retrieved November 2, 2014.

67. Jump up ^ Korte, Gregory (October 16, 2014). "Tightened sanctions target Syrian human rights abuses".USAToday. Retrieved November 9, 2014.

68. Jump up ^ Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (July 4, 2012). "Syria reverts to socialist economic policies to easetension". Reuters. Retrieved October 19, 2014.

69. Jump up ^ "Local ceasefires best way to ease Syrians' suffering: researchers". Reuters. November 10,2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.

70. Jump up ^ Yazigi, Jihad (April 7, 2014). "Syria's War Economy" (PDF). European Council on ForeignRelations. Retrieved October 19, 2014.

71. Jump up ^ Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (May 28, 2014). "Syria's economy heads into ruin: U.N. sponsored report" .Reuters. Retrieved October 19, 2014.

72. ^ Jump up to: a b Naylor, Hugh (November 29, 2014). "Syria’s Assad regime cuts subsidies, focuses ailingeconomy on war effort". Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2014.

73. Jump up ^ Daou, Rita (October 17, 2014). "Glitzy mall sparks anger from Assad backers" . Agence FrancePresse. Retrieved October 19, 2014.

74. Jump up ^ Blair, David (December 12, 2014). "EU tries to ground Bashar al-Assad's warplanes by banningfuel supplies". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 13, 2014.

75. ^ Jump up to: a b Kelley, Michael, B (21 January 2014). "It’s Becoming Clear That Assad Fueled The Al-

Qaeda Surge That Has Kept Him In Power". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

76. Jump up ^ Baker, Aryn (26 February 2015). "Why Bashar Assad Won’t Fight ISIS" . Time. Retrieved 7March 2015.

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Documents

En.wikipedia.org Bashar Al Assad