Word: assad
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...kiss his hand during working hours, then kick back as former high school buddies at night. He's working on ways to get together with his close friends and fellow Arab rulers King Abdullah II of Jordan and Emir Hamad of Bahrain; he hasn't met Syrian heir Bashar Assad, 34. Despite high expectations for this new wave of leaders, Mohammed VI cautions, "One should not think that a new generation will turn everything upside down...
...Jimmy Stewart syllables 4. Dervish's faith 9. Make some zigzags, perhaps 12. Socks, e.g. 13. Hafez Assad's Foreign Minister for the last 14 years of his rule 14. Inflation-fighting WW II org. 15. 14 years later, the govt. says it's going to shut it down 17. Left Coast luggage tag 18. What Rosie did 19. Flying start? 21. Yemeni port 22. __/Faulkner, book award 24. Barbra's Funny Girl co-star 27. Pimlico shape 29. Sierra __, hardly a holiday spot for the British 30. It approved AT&T's acquisition of MediaOne 33. Foy patriarch...
...accounts, Dr. Bashar, as many Syrians call him, never wanted to be President. Educated in Syria and England, Assad's second son is an intellectual by temperament--rather like his brooding father--and not the best public speaker. But after his brother's death, Bashar returned from his studies in London, and at his father's request underwent accelerated military training, eventually earning the rank of colonel in the elite Presidential Guard...
...clearly put the modest doctor in an awkward position. "I am not seeking high posts," he told Al-Wasat, an Arabic magazine published in London. "But I will not evade my responsibilities." Bashar is, in many ways, a more impressive figure than was his brother, says British author and Assad biographer Patrick Seale. "Basil was a very physical man, very keen on dangerous sports like hang gliding, parachuting, fast cars," Seale recalls. "[Bashar] is much more reflective, much more thoughtful. Much more able to implement or pursue the political legacy of his father...
Changes within the Syrian government started accelerating earlier this year as the elder Assad's health began to decline. A general who had questioned why another Assad should become President was retired, and a former Prime Minister was arrested on corruption charges. Soon after, the entire 37-member cabinet resigned en masse, allowing Bashar to recommend suitable candidates for some jobs in the new cabinet. "An improved administration is the key to this process," he told Al-Hayat, a London-based Arabic paper...