Epstein Secrets

simply Hafez al-Assad's son. David W. Lesch, a professor of Middle East history at Trinity University, is the author of "The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al- Asad and Modern Syria." SONY_GM_00078427 JPM-SDNY-00001554 EFTA_00188894 Confidential Treatment Requested by JPMorgan Chase EFTA01301050 9

conference at 6 pm on Thursday evening, in response to violent demonstrations in the southern town of Daraa near the border with Jordan. President Bashar al-Assad, she stressed, had given strict orders not to fire at demonstrators with live ammunition - and expressed his sorrow for the senseless loss of life

minority of the Alawite sect is Syria's equivalent to Saddam Hussein's clan of Tikriti Sunnis, both having ruled cruelly and bloodily. Indeed, the Assads have nursed a particular grudge against the Palestinians, almost all of them. They had little truck with Arafat and sided in the intra-Palestinian

94 Confidential Treatment Requested by JPMorgan Chase EFTA01301050 9 Article 3. Brookings The Syrian Rift Itamar Rabinovich March 27, 2011 - Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship is facing its biggest crisis since he inherited his father's position in June 2000. Not long ago, in a long, thrilling interview with

y in particular, as ordinary Syrians celebrated what seemed to be the end of a crisis that had gripped the nation for a week. Presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban gave a press conference at 6 pm on Thursday evening, in response to violent demonstrations in the southern town of Daraa near the border with Jorda

of his broader reform effort. That's still said to be on Assad's agenda. EFTA00708200 The Assad clan also has military power that could obstruct Bashar's reformist moves. His brother Maher, for example, commands a tough unit of Syrian special forces, and his brother-in-law Assaf Shaukat has been a s

Syrian special forces, and his brother-in-law Assaf Shaukat has been a senior intelligence official. It's anyone's guess, at this point, whether the Assads will remain united behind Bashar or fall into a bloody internal fued, but so far Bashar has proved the master of the situation. Syria had been rela

in recent months have said they believe he's a reformer." Thus did Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton respond to a question on Sunday about Bashar al-Assad, the latest Arab dictator to respond with fusillades to calls by his people for democratic change. At the time she spoke, more than 60 Syrians had a

ria less than two month ago. Assad has deliberately avoided making any public pronouncements so far, leaving those mostly to his pro-reform adviser Bouthaina Shaaban. She said last week that Assad would repeal Syria's emergency law, end the Baath Party's monopoly on power, reform the judiciary and combat the corr

e - April 26-May 3, 2011 Date: Tue, 03 May 2011 20:23:06 +0000 Importance Normal Middle East Update April 26-May 3, 2011 Syria Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is gambling that he can stem the tide of the reformist movement in the country by using force. Reports suggest that the regime is relying exclusivel

therwise splinter. Aside from evoking resentment against the Alawite sect, this tactic may push Syria to the brink of sectarian conflict. President Assad continues to side with the hard-liners in his inner circle, including his brother Maher—who commands the Fourth Armored Division—and his brother-in

ters' demands would betray weakness on the part of the regime and only elicit more demands. Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa and presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban—who initially divulged to the public the President's intention to undertake serious reforms—have fallen silent. Last week, armed units were deploye

ces the old idea of dynasty. The regime of the Al-Assads does not believe in freedom of information. An A

ent Hafez Al-Assad's brother, Rifat, killed 10,000 (some say 20,000). As a showdown intensifies a generation later, it is another pair of brothers, Bashar and Maher, poised to do the same, against demonstrators lightly armed or weaponless but willing to look EFTA_R1_02032813 EFTA02691196 35 death

member. A timeline of opposition in Syria bulges with religious contention and brutal repression, but not with female heroes. The government uses Bouthaina Shaaban, a British- educated scholar of Arab women and literature, to reach out to old oppositionists while young ones are disinclined to talk. Who will pr