Word: assad
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Friedman explains what on the surface seems inexplicable, such as why Syrian President Hafez Assad would destroy an entire city--Hama--in his country. He knows and understands how the shackles of tradition and history have shaped the policies of leaders involved in nation-building in the Middle East...
...framework of Friedman's analysis of the Middle East is Assad's destruction of Hama, which the author feels characterize the three conflicting elements that have caused conflict in the Middle East: tribe-like loyalty, authoritarianism and modern nation-state building...
...Assad liquidated the city because the Sunni Moslem revolt based there could have spread throughout the country. He didn't see the Sunnis as Syrians but as an alien people. And he was able to exercise his power in such a horrific manner by taking advantage of the tradition of authoritarian rule...
...White House launched a diplomatic rescue effort that one U.S. envoy called "a full-court press on everybody we know." Characteristically, the President worked the phone with the heads of state of most European allies and nations in the Middle East -- with the notable exception of Syria's Hafez Assad, whom Bush does not trust...
Aoun claims a larger aim -- "a war of liberation" against Syria's occupation army. While some Lebanese laud his moves as patriotic, his tactics risk locking the Christians in a perilous confrontation. Syrian President Hafez Assad adamantly refuses to withdraw, insisting his troops are necessary to maintain at least a semblance of order. Making the situation more ominous, the Christians are getting substantial military support from Assad's archenemy, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who seeks to avenge Assad's support of Iran in the gulf...