Talk:Bashar al-Assad

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Contents

[edit] What does this mean?

During the campaign which went under the title of tactics, he was given the title of Guardian Hunter by his supporters.

  • No idea, I will remove it right now, if anyone wants to put it back in, please discuss here. Asabbagh 08:28, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Exposure to West

I don't see a source for this. Moreover I see absolutely no relevance for this. Does "exposure" to the West mean something other than trivial information? Is it meant to meant that the extent of his exposure is an indicator of how "civilized" he is? I wonder how many people Asad has killed in the Middle East in comparison to say... ummmm... say the UK... no no wait... the US!! The west imposed sanctions in Iraq that killed more than 500,000 Iraqis which is why Densi Halliday and his successor both resigned from the UN in disgust and horror at their mandate of imposing the sanctions in Iraq which Halliday said was tantamount to "genocide." That's western imposed. Then there is the Iraq war and the fact that more Iraqi's have died as a result of the occupation that under Saddam's entire 23 years (I don't include the Iran-Iraq war and the gassing of Iranians because the West was actively encouraging him and supplying him with weapons). Now let's look at Asad.. errrr... who?! Oh you mean that paragon of virtue, and fountain of civilization and humanity, yes I remember him. Edwardosaido 5:21, 2 October 2007 (GMT)

[edit] He isn't so pure

No word about the fact that he gives a refuge for terror organizations like Islamic jihad and so on.Amirpedia 12:50, 14 July 2005 (UTC)

Not to mention that he's the current head of a rather vicious, brutal totalitarian regime? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.161.42.199 (talk • contribs) 07:51, 20 September 2005 (UTC)
I am a critic of Bashar; and I think it might be appropriate for questioning of his mental abilities, as rumors continue to circulate. However, without figures and actual sources for "Why he is brutal"-I'm not sure it is completely appropriate. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmw0000 (talk • contribs) 07:17, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Why anyone feels the need to question his mental abilities is perhaps more a reflection of their own questionable mental status. The man is an eloquent, incredibly smart, educated person. He has made massive efforts to try and gain western favor, and tried to peacefully negotiate the return of the Golan Heights which is Syrian land occupied for nearly 40 years by Israel. Edwardosaido 5:10, 2 October 2007 (GMT)

[edit] Further reading vs. references

We're supposed to cite sources, but we haven't so far in this article. Since we have quite a nice further reading section, if any of the books there were used as sources (or can corroborate the material of this article), can we confirm this and add them to a references section? Johnleemk | Talk 14:50, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

born in syria and an alawite, i know that history has been very cruel to our small sect. we are surrounded by a majority who had oppressed us and made us work as an almost endentured servitude for many years. we want what anyone wants, respect and to live in peace. we don't push our religion on anyone and we accept all as sons and daughters of god. please don't push syria into a choas of death and destruction as in iraq. let us talk, and then let live...together.

[edit] Bashar al-Assad: The Don Corleone of Arab Despots

The UN Security Council met in New York to consider the report by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis who has assembled compelling evidence pointing to the complicity of key figures in the Assad regime in the February 2005, Valentine's Day bombing of Hariri's motorcadein Beirut. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mideast Facts (talk • contribs) 03:49, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Middle school gym class

Perhaps some mention should be made of Assad's striking resemblance to the one tall dorky kid in every school all the kids aimed for in dodge ball. NEMT 14:50, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

  • Perhaps not. Asabbagh 08:33, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pointless allegations of Syrian involvement in the Harboring of Militants...

If only one would face the truth of the matter, then I am sure that someone ought to know that the Baath party is strictly secular, moderate, and thus has almost no connection with the militants they are constantly accused of providing sanctuary for. They are a corrupt pack of wolves, I am sure of this, yet they are not radical. This in itself kills any arguement implicating them in the fruitless witchhunts for these "Terrorist cells" in a country which has reciev'd the mighty blow of American aid before, and wishes not to endure such again. Any fool with half a mind and a good amount of knowledge of the Al Assad dynasty should at least be able to comprehend their strict non-involvement with the political vacuum that is now Iraq (A comment directed strictly at the political situation there.) and therefore, by relation any and all Islamic "cells" and Nationalist movements save their own.

Please, come to thy senses, and prevent any such accusation from tainting this article.

Yes, I am quite against the Al Assad Regime. No need to invade it, it will die of old age shortly enough, just as the Ottomans before them did.

Seurat. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.44.188.19 (talk • contribs) 23:04, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Heir apparent

So if al-Assad were to die today, who is the heir apparent? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.1.58.223 (talk • contribs) 01:29, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Thats why he should have introduced cloning to syria instead of internet213.42.2.28 08:42, 12 September 2006 (UTC)Dolly the lamb

[edit] Title

Given that he went to medical school, shouldn't he be named in the opening paragraph as 'Dr. Basar al-Assad', as is customary in other biographical articles? Damburger 09:07, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Major Clean-up Necessary

You have the most ruthless regime this side of the clerical dictatorship ruling the IRI-in power for over three and a half decades-with an extensive record of human rights abuses, illegal detentions, suppression of political dissent, and a massacre-Hama-which eclipsed Black September in scale, in addition to its harboring of fugitive Nazis, the leaders of nearly every major Islamic and proto-Marxist terrorist group in the Mid-east, potential chem-bio WMD programs, as well as assorted nefarious activity occuring in the Bekaa Valley, and yet there is no mention of any of these atrocities and crimes in the text of this article, which is hagiographic in tone. - Ruthfulbarbarity 13:17, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

How about cleaning the personal attacks from this talk page as well? --Astronaut 16:07, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
What Astronaut said. Asabbagh 08:42, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Citation needed?

Anonymous user added something about a speech impediment. Removed this until a source can be cited. --Astronaut 16:04, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Religion

Dear all, I have heard that the Pres. Assad is Alavi, but not Sunni Muslem. Is that so? thx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.42.21.75 (talk • contribs) 15:06, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, this is correct, as it is stated in the second paragraph of the article. Bertilvidet 15:16, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, if you look up Alawites, you'll find that they are Shi'ites and not Sunnis.

  • The wife is Sunni, though. Funkynusayri 20:39, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Israeli War in Lebanon

I am going to delete the sentence that talks about how Israel lost the War in Lebanon in the Summer of 2006. I find the assertion that Israel lost that war to be false, and I'm sure most would agree with me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.35.124.187 (talk • contribs) 06:34, 16 October 2006 (UTC)


Yes, especially since it wasn't a war as much as a massacre of the lebanese. People need to get their facts straight.

The Israelis started that war and weren't able to reach their aims, which mean they have lost the war.


Can i ask you the reason why you think its false info?? Or because you can not admit that they lost like the 76 war ??

I don't think that it is necessarily false, but it is probably unproveable either way. The Summer '06 Israeli-Lebanon war is one that is shielded with controversy and POV, and it's a war that is difficult to say whether there were "winners" and "losers," largely because the goals, intentions, and "aims" of both parties -- Hezbollah and IDF -- were never clearly articulated. For what it's worth, if you really want to talk about goals, then every Islamic Middle-Eastern country has lost every war with Israel, because the goal of destroying Israel has not come to fruition... Thus showing the uselessness of talking about goals in non-traditional wars (like that between Lebanon and Israel in '06). Mike Murray 20:31, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] OBE ?

Do you have a source for that statement? --213.155.224.232 11:06, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Shaa'b

"Shaa'b" seems to have the apostrophe in the wrong place.

[edit] Pic Change

Ive put a nice pic coz i dont think the old pic is nice

I've sourced another photo of Bashar & got the licence to use it, the quality is far better. I've changed the picture to the new one. Author - Ammar Abd Rabbo Source - http://flickr.com/photos/21499556@N04/2085667933/ License - Some rights reserved CC-BY-SA --rakkar (talk) 23:01, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
  • Hmmm, is it better? It could be good for the body of the article, but as the main photo? I think a photo of only Bashar would be better. I'll mess with it and see how it looks. Funkynusayri (talk) 23:16, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
I hear what you're saying. there are three possible photos, The headshot currently on the article with the floral design behind, the same photo with the designs shopped out and the Moscow photo I added. The reason I felt it was better was that the picture quality was much higher than the grainy headshot photos, and as well as depicting him normally, the grainy headshot photos make him look more like Basil Fawlty than usual. Do you think we should crop out his wife? --rakkar (talk) 03:04, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
  • Yeah, I certainly agree that the quality of the newer picture is a lot better, but I think the picture of only Bashar standing in a suit fits more for the infobox, as well, it is more representative of how he usually looks and seems more "official". The newer picture is better to illustrate his personal life I think. Take a look at the George W. Bush article for example, where a more "formal" picture is used in the infobox, and more informal pictures of he and his family are used in the body of the article.

Just uploaded a bigger version of the image by the way. Funkynusayri (talk) 03:22, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ophthalmologist?

Was he a practicing ophthalmologist and if so during which years?

[edit] Presidency

"Bashar resembles his father in every sense but is more subtly surgical in removing opposition."

This is unsourced and obviously POV. I believe a swift removal is in order. --76.241.79.48 (talk) 02:46, 21 December 2007 (UTC)