Word: bashar
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...generation and Western-educated, a healer rather than a warrior by profession and a Netizen rather than a nationalist by instinct, but don't expect to see Bashar Assad even talking to Israel any time soon. No matter how much Washington cajoles, peace with the old enemy isn't going to feature on the agenda of a presumptive president whose priority will be political and even, perhaps, physical survival...
...wishes this on his son," says TIME West Bank correspondent Jamil Hamad. "Hafez Assad has condemned his son to a life of sleepless nights and constant pressure, always looking over your shoulder because somebody wants to kill you." And it's not as if 34-year-old Bashar has exactly coveted the job, telling anyone who'd listen until a few months ago that he harbored no presidential ambitions. But in a scenario eerily reminiscent of India's Gandhi family - in which Rajiv found greatness thrust upon him after Indira's preferred heir, Sanjay, died in a plane crash - Bashar...
...father certainly bequeathed Bashar more than enough enemies to keep him awake nights. For one, there's his uncle Rifaat, exiled since leading a failed coup attempt against his father in 1983 - and against whose supporters Hafez and Bashar, of late, have conducted a campaign of violent harassment. Rifaat made clear Monday that, having held the title of deputy president before his ouster, he, and not Bashar, should succeed Hafez Assad. Syria's security forces have pledged to arrest the outcast uncle should he attempt to come home, but that hasn't stopped him from stirring up trouble...
...Rifaat, ironically, before his coup attempt, who authored the most notorious campaign of violence against the Brotherhood in 1982, when he leveled the city of Hama following a Muslim uprising there, killing up to 20,000 people. While they're unlikely to accept Rifaat any more gladly than Bashar, in statements since Assad's death they've echoed the exiled brother's criticism of the succession process that has positioned Bashar to take over. And while the military may not have a viable alternative, it may be difficult for the top brass to accept orders from a 34-year...
Syria's President Hafez Assad is dead, and with him any chance of peace between his country and Israel in the near term. The ailing 69-year-old died Saturday, leaving the country in the hands of his politically inexperienced 34-year-old son, Bashar. On hearing of the strongman's death, the country's parliament immediately passed a constitutional amendment putting aside the rule that the president had to be 40 or over. However, the arrival to power of Bashar may intensify a power struggle that has bubbled under the surface since Assad, who ruled from 1970, first brought...