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11/10/2005
A Look Back at Syria
[Next Hott Spotts Nov. 24]
On November 13, 1970, Syrian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Hafez
al-Assad became leader of his nation. 35 years later, Syria is
back in the news, not just because of the war in Iraq but also for
the government’s role in the assassination of former Lebanese
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. So I thought it was a good time to
reprise a piece I did on Assad back in June 2000, following his
death at the age of 69.
---
Hafez Al-Assad, the “Lion of Damascus,” died two weeks ago at
the age of 69. Before we take a look at his life and the role he
played in the formation of the modern / decrepit nation he lorded
over, let''s examine some of the comments made upon his death.
First off, the announcer on Syrian state radio:
“The legacy of his accomplishments and ideas is a planet that
will shine not just on (the current) generation, but also on coming
generations.” Well, maybe we should look at a different opinion.
“Hafez Al-Assad was not a diplomat, he was not a peacemaker,
he was not a great leader. He was a murderer. In his three
decades in power, the Syrian dictator terrorized his own nation,
the people of Lebanon, and countless others.”
--Senator Jesse Helms
“(Assad’s) skill and shrewdness and brutality - and the fatigue of
his country (having endured about 14 coups in the two decades
prior to his accession), its eagerness to trade what liberties it had
for order - gave (the) ruler his chance.”
--Arab affairs expert, Fouad Ajami
And then there was President Bill Clinton who openly spoke of
the respect he had for Assad.
“He made clear Syria’s continued commitment to the path of
peace.” Unbelievable.
Actually, to be fair, Assad was one complex dude. One thing is
for sure, he was NOT a great leader and he WAS a murderer.
And, was he really that important? My vast library here at
StocksandNews really doesn''t have a heck of a lot to draw on.
Assad was born on October 6, 1930, in the small farming village
of Qardahaher (I have also seen ‘Qurdaha’). Hafez was the 9th of
11 children. His father lived with two wives which means that,
since the village was built on a bunch of dirt, the father was the
original ‘dirtball.’
Historically, Syria had helped the British defeat the Turks during
World War I but, after the war, Syria was to become a French
mandated territory. And Hafez was taught what every child of
his era was, that being to hate the French.
Assad was a brilliant student and the one truly amazing part of
his story is that a dirt poor kid could grow up to become a power-
broker in the Middle East for 30 years...and not get shot.
Growing up, Hafez was also swept up in debates among
Communists, Arab nationalists and Islamic fundamentalists. He
chose to join the Baath Socialist Party, one which preached that a
secular, socialist state encompassing all the Arabs would revive
their past glory and undermine Western dominance.
Assad was able to enroll in the Air Force College, along with
many of his Alawite brethren who used the military to gain an
education.
It is this last factor that warrants some space. The Alawites
comprise only about 12% of Syria''s population while the Sunni
Muslims make up 74%. How do minority sects come into power
in the Middle East with such frequency?
According to “The Oxford History of Islam,” “(The) important
legacy of colonialism is the representation of particular
communities in the police and military forces. The colonial
powers often recruited among the minorities for the local army
and police forces. Not only were the minorities more closely
allied with the colonial order but, they were more likely to be
willing to engage and to suppress members of the dominant
community - with which they did not identify and against which
they may have borne a grudge. Minorities were also less likely
to respond to the religious call for rebellion and jihad.”
Assad was #1 in his class and became a fighter pilot, eventually
going to the Soviet Union for training on MIG aircraft.
In the mid-1950s, the Middle East was roiled in one crisis after
another; the biggest being in Egypt where in 1952, King Farouk
was driven into exile, to be replaced two years later by Gamal
Abdel Nasser, the founder of classic “Arab nationalism.” This
sentiment surged through the whole Moslem world, from
Morocco to Indonesia.
In 1956, Nasser precipitated a world crisis by seizing the Suez
Canal in clear violation of international treaties. October ‘56
was one wild and wooly month, for as Britain and France
launched their own offensive against Egypt, the Soviets were
barreling through Budapest and India and the Soviets were
threatening to come to Egypt’s aid. But the U.S. came down
against France and Britain and quickly the crisis was over.
Nasser was able to present himself as the very symbol of Arab
nationalism in its struggle against Western imperialism. And in
1958 he formed the United Arab Republic with Syria and North
Yemen (now there’s a real winner, eh? North Yemen.) The
union, however, was to collapse in 1961 (and Nasser never did
achieve true greatness for either himself or his nation).
Meanwhile, back to Assad, in 1960 he joined a military
committee that eventually brought the Baath Party to power in a
coup in 1963 and by ’64, Hafez held the rank of general and was
named Air Force commander. In 1966, following another coup
(the officers were an active bunch), he was named defense
minister.
In 1967, Nasser made some threatening moves against Israel.
Israel felt that they had no other choice but to launch a pre-
emptive strike against both Egypt and Syria and within six days
Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West
Bank and, most importantly for Syria, the Golan Heights.
Prior to the ‘67 war, the highly politicized Syrian officer corps
had been thinned by fractious fighting. They had been ill-
prepared for battle.
But Assad survived, even though he was in charge of the battered
army. In September 1970, Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan sought
to topple King Hussein. In classic Middle East politics, Syria
sent tanks to aid the Palestinians, only to retreat when Jordan
launched an effective air campaign. King Hussein survived and
Assad used the disarray in his own country to launch a bloodless
coup in November, better known as “the corrective movement.”
---
“(Hafez Assad) was the late 20th-century master of both small-
and large-scale terrorism.”
--Charles Krauthammer
Having suffered defeat in the Six-Days War with Israel in 1967,
Assad’s Syria, as well as Egypt, were in dire straights. For his
part, Assad was obsessed by the loss of the Golan Heights in the
war.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Sadat needed the Sinai Peninsula
back as his country was receiving no revenue from the Suez
Canal. Sadat immediately began planning for a new war.
The Soviets had gotten back into Egypt’s good graces and did
not want to see the Middle East erupt again. Their primary
concern was to continue on the road of detente with the U.S. so
Moscow caught wind of Egypt’s plans, they warned Washington.
But Washington was distracted by Watergate. Nixon and
Kissinger couldn''t believe that Egypt and Syria would go to war
again. And for its part, Israel felt that with the beating they had
inflicted in 1967, even if they were attacked their superior forces
would rule, quickly.
So as the calendar turned over to the fall of 1973, Syria and
Egypt were massing their forces. Then on October 6, Yom
Kippur, 700 Syrian tanks rolled onto the Golan Plateau and
southern Golan was taken by nightfall. Within 24 hours, Egypt
had been able to place 100,000 men and 1,000 tanks of their own
across the Suez Canal with a minor loss of life.
Israel was not ready and events overtook the leadership with
lightning speed. 1967 hero, Moshe Dayan, told President Golda
Meir that the nation was in dire trouble.
The early victories boosted Sadat and Assad at home, but now
Moscow and Washington quickly became involved. First,
Moscow launched a massive airlift to Egypt, while a few days
later an embattled President Nixon authorized an equally vast
one for Israel. The Israelis began to fight back.
By October 22, the U.N. approved a ceasefire but the fighting
continued. Israeli troops had surrounded the Egyptians and Syria
was beaten back as well. By October 27, Israel controlled more
territory than before the war. Finally, the ceasefire held.
Israel had lost more than $7 billion in equipment, property and
lost output - equivalent to one year’s GDP. More than ever, they
became dependent on U.S. aid.
Enter Henry Kissinger, who in a stretch of about six months
made 26 trips to Damascus (and an almost equal number to
Cairo). You have to remember that in mid-October, the Arab
nations had banded together with OPEC launching the oil
embargo that crippled the West.
Kissinger held some 130 hours of face-to-face talks with Hafez
Assad. His first talk with the Syrian leader lasted over 6 hours.
The press thought that Kissinger may have been kidnapped. It
was the start of “bladder diplomacy.” During any meeting with
Assad you couldn''t break protocol and go to the bathroom. And
Assad lectured and lectured his visitors on the unfair legacy of
colonialism. Eventually, in May 1974, Israeli and Syrian forces
disengaged from the Golan and prisoners were exchanged. But,
of course, Israel maintained control over the strategic territory
and it remains the chief impediment to peace today.
Two years later there was another crisis. Syria had always
claimed that the nation of Lebanon, created in the 1920s, was
rightfully theirs as part of a Greater Syria. Assad constantly said,
“Our history is one, our future is one and our destiny is one.” In
June 1976, Assad intervened in Lebanon''s brutal civil war, one
which pitted various Muslim and Christian factions against one
another, with the PLO right in the middle of it all.
The Christian leadership in Lebanon had actually invited him in.
He chose to stay and 30,000 Syrian troops occupied, turning
Lebanon into a hotbed for terrorism, worldwide.
Make no mistake, Assad was behind many vicious acts over the
years. Whether he was supporting bases in Damascus or Beirut,
Assad’s fingerprints were all over the place.
The most notorious Damascus-based terrorist, Abu Nidal, was
responsible for the deaths of a PLO leader in Portugal and
Jordanian diplomats in Athens and Madrid in 1983. Anyone who
was seen having a soft spot for the West was to be eliminated
and later that year, Nidal was linked to the suicide bombing of
the Marine barracks in Lebanon which killed 241 Americans.
Assad also had his own problems at home to deal with.
Remember, he was an Alawite. Sunni Muslims comprised 74%
of the population while the Alawites were only 12%. Many of
the Sunni''s were fundamentalists and none worse than the
Muslim Brotherhood. Assad became the target of constant
assassination attempts.
Back in 1979, the Botherhood had massacred 50 Alawite cadets
at a military academy. Then in 1980, extremists lobbed two
grenades at Assad. He literally kicked one away while a
bodyguard flung himself on the other, losing his life. In revenge,
Assad’s youger brother, Rifaat, took his forces to a prison and
gunned down 250 religious dissenters.
1982, however, witnessed Assad’s most brutal act. The
Brotherhood rose up in Hama, Syria’s third-largest city. Baath
Party officials were killed and the insurrectionists called for
nationwide rebellion. I have read many different accounts of
what happened next, but suffice it to say, Assad moved in with
full force and the result was a leveling of Hama with 20,000-
30,000 killed. After this act, there was no doubt who was in
charge anymore.
In 1986, King Hussein of Jordan went to Damascus, pleading for
Assad to abandon his international terrorist ways. The next year
Assad closed Abu Nidal''s Damascus offices. But lest we get too
carried away, there is little doubt that Assad was involved in
many acts since that day, only the scale may have been
diminished.
Then in 1990, Assad received a gift in the form of Saddam
Hussein''s invasion of Kuwait. Assad and Saddam were hardened
enemies. Assad jumped at the chance to become a partner in the
Gulf War coalition, contributing an armored division to the
multinational force arrayed against Saddam. This single act
prompted the U.S. to turn a blind eye to Assad''s continuing
consolidation of power over Lebanon. His stock rose throughout
the West. More bladder diplomacy took place. The Saudi''s gave
$2 billion in aid and Assad ate it all up.
But since those heady days, what really happened to make Syria
and the Middle East a better place? Certainly, despite all of the
encomiums upon his death, Assad contributed zero to the peace
process. Perhaps if he can be given credit for one thing, it is that
since the days of the Hama reign of terror, the rights of religious
minorities in Syria have been largely protected. But when you
live in a totally regulated society, what does it matter?
Charles Krauthammer commented on the “affection” that the
Syrian people held for their dictator.
“This love of Big Brother is testimony to the efficacy of
totalitarianism...and the truism that advertising works. Especially
when you control all of it. And especially if you get to shoot
anyone who shops another brand.”
Now the focus turns to Assad’s son, 34-year-old Bashar. The
stage is set for a July 10 referendum on him assuming the reigns
of power. He will get 99.9% of the vote. As they say in Syria,
“Even if Allah runs, He wouldn''t do as well.”
Lurking in the wings, somewhere in Paris, is Hafez Assad’s
brother, Rifaat, the aforementioned butcher. Rifaat had been
exiled long ago but now threatens to return to stake his claim on
the presidency. Arab affairs expert Fouad Ajami comments.
“That the main issue of succession would revolve around a
choice between a 34-year-old ophthalmologist younger son with
no political experience and a disgraced, exiled brother of Hafez
Assad with much blood on his hands gives away the deceased
ruler’s legacy. He had left no meaningful institutions, save for
the Army and its division commanders, and the secret police, and
the men of the regime who had clustered around the master of
the realm.”
Regarding the grief of the people, Ajami adds.
“As it weeps for a ruler it had learned to live with and come to
know, it wails for itself - for the wreckage the ruler left behind,
for the travails of a political life that had known so much
disappointment and heartbreak.”
At Assad’s funeral, the Russians, once Syria’s best ally, did not
send a government representative, nor did the Chinese, Syria’s
main arms supplier. Bill Clinton sent our Secretary of State.
Sources:
“A History of the Arab Peoples,” Albert Hourani
“Diplomacy,” Henry Kissinger
“One World Divisible,” David Reynolds
“The Oxford History of Islam,” edited by John L. Esposito
Richard Pearson / Washington Post
Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times
Hott Spotts will return Nov. 24.
Brian Trumbore
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