Word: assads
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...officials argue that by stationing Marines in Lebanon, the U.S. played into Syrian hands, since Washington, in effect, put itself at the mercy of forces largely controlled by Assad. If the U.S. could leave the Lebanese quicksand tomorrow without losing face, and without the risk of causing further chaos by doing so, some Administration officials undoubtedly would grab the opportunity...
Both Washington and Jerusalem seem reluctant to recognize that reality. Even if they did, Assad would probably prefer not to negotiate now. The Syrian President believes that the Arabs should deal with Jerusalem only when they are as strong militarily as the Israelis, if not stronger. The Reagan Administration, moreover, has shown no interest in the kind of comprehensive talks, complete with Soviet representation, that Syria has demanded. Leaving aside the question of whether Moscow would be helpful or not, the White House is unwilling to grant the Kremlin any more influence in the region...
...home, Assad has brought a stable government to a country that had rarely experienced that phenomenon before he came to power 13 years ago. His durability is especially noteworthy considering that Assad belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that accounts for only 13% of his country's 9.6 million people (most of the rest are Sunni Muslims). Assad's long tenure has, however, been purchased at great cost. The regime cruelly silences opponents both at home and abroad, maintains a standing army of 275,000, and has five intelligence agencies to keep watch...
...recent weeks the state of Assad's health, always a crucial question in a one-man regime like Syria's, has become a subject of intense worldwide speculation. Syrian officials announced last month that their leader had suffered an attack of appendicitis. That diagnosis lost credibility when the patient failed to reappear for two weeks and word spread that he had had his appendix removed 20 years ago. Filmed news footage of Assad ostensibly sitting at a table with top officials and, a few days later, inspecting a bridge in Damascus, showed him to be wan and moving stiffly. Indeed...
Western diplomats in Damascus believe that Assad, who is diabetic, suffered a serious but not critical vascular incident, most likely a heart attack, and that he is slowly mending. According to Israeli intelligence sources, Assad has been instructed by doctors not to talk, so instead he spends his waking hours scribbling notes to aides. While both U.S. and Israeli officials believe that Assad is in full command of his senses, the consensus is that it will be some time before the Syrian President can resume his usual 18-hour workdays. There are conflicting rumors about who is running the country...