Like many Syrians, I'd only ever known the country under the rule of Assad and his father Hafez, who had been in power from ...

All forms of stubbornness, which combine the ingredients of blind pride and impotence, are deadly. However, diplomatic ...

(His father was deposed in a coup by Hafez al-Assad.) "It changed the rules of the game, and opened a lot of perspectives for the country." Syria's vibrant arts and culture scene has long been a ...

Despite his rhetoric about democracy and inclusivity, Syria’s new president is steering the country back toward military ...

THE late President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat (May God have mercy on him) made several statements that proved prophetic. One such ...

Bashar inherited the presidency five years ago following the death of his father, the autocratic, ex-fighter pilot Hafez al-Assad—an odd transition in a country that presumes itself a republic ...

(If you ask nicely, I might show you my gaudy as all get-out Idi Amin shirt or my splendidly outrageous Hafez al-Assad banner.) I was pondering Mao's legacy one recent morning in Hong Kong ...

In 1982, Hafez al-Assad’s regime crushed a Muslim Brotherhood-led uprising in Hama, with the army and Rifaat al-Assad’s Defence Brigades accused of mass executions and the use of cyanide gas.