Who is running Syria
The former London opthamologist Bashar al-Assad does not give the appearance of being an assertive or strong leader. Maybe it's the lack of a chin that influences my opinion, unfair as that may be. Maybe it's the scripted nature of any presentation that has been seen and the lack of real passion with which it is delivered. Apparently, from various reports of experienced Middle East hands, behind what is observed is, in fact, a weak leader.
From what is read here, Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, the brutal dictator for 29 years until his death in 2000, integrated the security, military, and the Assad government into one operation. That's different from Egypt, as an example, where the military was a stand alone force that the political leaders, however dictatorial, were required to negotiate with and placate. That suggests that senior officials in the security and military in Syria are in charge of the carnage that is going on in the same manner that the father would have approached the situation.
When Bashar al-Assad became the leader of Syria at age 35, he was seen as a more liberal force that would open up the society relative to his father's approach. Within a year of taking power, that hope was just a hope. In hindsight, he was perhaps a figurehead from the start, and once viewed in that way it's possible to become a perennial doormat.
Who is really in charge of this tragic situation in Syria. Is it simply a group trained under the father that are years older and more experienced than the current Assad, and have a group-think mentality about how this should or must be approached. Several days ago there was an interview with a government spokesperson, very well dressed, perfect English, in his sixties I would guess, who emphatically and repeatedly denied that the government was shelling Homs. As a sidebar, the British television network showed tanks shelling Homs as the interview played.
The spokesperson reminded me of Tariq Aziz, the man who played the same role for Saddam Hussein. He was hanged, but at the time he was the debonair spokesperson with perfect English who with a straight face denied anything untoward that was said about his grotesque dictator leader.
That leads me to think that the group leading Syria does not care in the least what the world thinks, what their Arab neighbors think, or what many of the people of Syria think. They will press on and on. Bashir al-Assad may have no power to do anything about this, and after 11 years as leader he may well support it wholeheartedly even if it could go on without him. At this point, where would he go.
From what is read here, Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, the brutal dictator for 29 years until his death in 2000, integrated the security, military, and the Assad government into one operation. That's different from Egypt, as an example, where the military was a stand alone force that the political leaders, however dictatorial, were required to negotiate with and placate. That suggests that senior officials in the security and military in Syria are in charge of the carnage that is going on in the same manner that the father would have approached the situation.
When Bashar al-Assad became the leader of Syria at age 35, he was seen as a more liberal force that would open up the society relative to his father's approach. Within a year of taking power, that hope was just a hope. In hindsight, he was perhaps a figurehead from the start, and once viewed in that way it's possible to become a perennial doormat.
Who is really in charge of this tragic situation in Syria. Is it simply a group trained under the father that are years older and more experienced than the current Assad, and have a group-think mentality about how this should or must be approached. Several days ago there was an interview with a government spokesperson, very well dressed, perfect English, in his sixties I would guess, who emphatically and repeatedly denied that the government was shelling Homs. As a sidebar, the British television network showed tanks shelling Homs as the interview played.
The spokesperson reminded me of Tariq Aziz, the man who played the same role for Saddam Hussein. He was hanged, but at the time he was the debonair spokesperson with perfect English who with a straight face denied anything untoward that was said about his grotesque dictator leader.
That leads me to think that the group leading Syria does not care in the least what the world thinks, what their Arab neighbors think, or what many of the people of Syria think. They will press on and on. Bashir al-Assad may have no power to do anything about this, and after 11 years as leader he may well support it wholeheartedly even if it could go on without him. At this point, where would he go.
posted by John Borden at 8:56 PM
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