CLOSE-UP
THE
POWER
AND THE
G1011)1
Making sense
of the hostage
crisis
and the
proposed peace
conference.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
He's bright, ambitious, private and likes flashy
cars. Syria's Hafez al-Assad also is a key player
in any Middle East negotiations.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
T
o one observer,
Hafez al-Assad is a
modern-day Mr.
Hyde: ruthless,
crafty, a man who
cannot be trusted.
To another, he is the kind-
ly Dr. Jekyll: reasonable, pa-
tient and insightful.
"Assad and (Iraqi leader
Saddam) Hussein — they are
the same," says Moti Zaken,
national director of the In-
stitute of Students and
Faculty of Israel, located in
New York. "Only maybe
Assad is smarter and more
shrewd."
"Is Assad like Hussein?
Not at all. Is he ruthless?
No, and there's no doubt
about that," says Wafa
Nasr, national director of
the Washington-based Arab-
American Anti-
Discrimination Committee
(ADC).
Both agree, however, that
Syria's president is an intel-
ligent, practical, ambitious
man eager to build ties with
the West. And both are cer-
tain that Syria, the nation
Mr. Assad has ruled for the
past 21 years, is a powerful
player in the hostage situa-
tion and a key to peace in the
Middle East.
"He is the one who can
deliver," Mr. Nasr says. Or
as former Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger explained
while discussing Mr. Assad,
"There can be no war
without Egypt, no peace
without Syria."
Hafez al-Assad, whose
name means "protector of
lions," was born in 1930 in
Qardaha. The oldest son of a
farming family, Mr. Assad
was raised a member of the
Alawite sect. Alawites, who
comprise about 12 percent of
the Syrian population but
occupy most leading posts in
the nation's army and ruling
Ba'ath Party, are a secretive
Shi'ite Islamic sect.
Alawites are followers of
Ali ibn Abi Talib,
Muhammad's son-in-law,
whom they regard as a wali,
"friend" of God and
"custodian" of the faith.
They are part of what is
known as "popular" Shi'ism
characterized by folk tradi-
tion, as opposed to the
"orthodox" Shi'ite
distinguished by a scribal
tradition. Because of
Crusader invasions in the
area, Alawites have incor-
porated a number of Chris-
tian traditions into their cul-
ture, including an incense
mass and the adham mass,
during which followers
chant hymns. Belief in rein-
carnation is widespread
among Alawites.
The majority of Sunni
("orthodox") Muslims, which
comprise 85 percent of
Syria's population, regard
Alawites as kuffar,
disbelievers, and mushrikun,
idolaters. In recent years,
however, Alawites have
made some ground in gain-
ing acceptance among the
Hafez al-Assad:
"He is the one who
can deliver."
Sunni.
The father of four sons and
one daughter, Mr. Assad in
his youth joined the Ba'ath
Party, which supports unify-
ing Arab lands into one
nation and opposes foreign
imperialism. In 1964, he was
named commander of the
Syrian air force; and several
years later was appointed
minister of defense. In a
1970 bloodless coup, he took
control of the government.
In the first two years of his
presidency, Mr. Assad work-
ed to improve Syrian and
Soviet ties, obtaining in
1972 a $7 million aid
package from the Kremlin.
He also reached out to the
West, hosting then-
President Richard Nixon in
Damascus in 1974. He did
not, however, make any
changes in Syria's policy
toward Israel.
Mr. Assad has repeatedly
asserted that Israel is in-
volved in international ter-
rorism and, in a 1989 inter-
view with Time, claimed
that "Israel aspires to the
establishment of a state
from the Nile to the
Euphrates." In July 1986, he
appealed to his countrymen
to follow in the footsteps of a
girl who murdered 16 Israeli
soldiers in a suicide attack.
"This type of person is
essential in the process of
restoring the strategic bal-
ance of power with Israel,"
he said.
As extensive as Mr. Assad
believes Israel's border goals
to be, so are his own for
Syria. His dream of a
"Greater Syria" includes
Israel, Jordan and Lebanon.
Lebanon today is occupied in
large part by the Syrian
army and pro-Syrian forces.
Mr. Assad's loathing of
Israel is believed to be all
the more intense because of
Syria's defeat in the 1967
war. At the time, Mr. Assad
was commander of the
Syrian air force, and he re-
portedly has never forgotten
Syria's loss to Israel of the
Golan Heights. Today, he
continues to insist the
return of the Golan Heights
is central to any successful
peace plan.
The Syrian leader's desire
for power and respect cannot
be underestimated,
observers say. A Mideast in-