APS Diplomat Fate of the Arabian Peninsula articles from November 2004

APS Diplomat Fate of the Arabian Peninsula archives from November 2004

SYRIA - Pax Americana Is Changing - Part 17B - Structure Of The Baathist Regime.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... Syria is a Baathist dictatorship consisting of two layers of authority, one visible and formal - which has a website glorifying the country's rulers - and a far more powerful one which is invisible. From the prime minister down, many among the...

SYRIA - The Government.
November 22, 2004... The president of the republic appoints and can fire the prime minister. But the choice and/or dismissal of the prime minister must be approved by the invisible layer before the president can make the relevant announcement. Once cleared, the...

The Sunni/Wahhabi Threat.
November 22, 2004... Equally - if not more - serious to the Assad regime is the challenge now coming from Syria's Sunni Arab majority, including Islamist members of the Shammar confederation of tribes. The Syrian branch of this confederation extends from Iraq's...

SYRIA - Historical Background.
November 22, 2004... The founding dynasty of the Arab/Islamic empire, the Sunni Omayyads, ruled from Damascus. Their reign in the 7th and early 8th centuries AD stretched from India to Spain. Much of the confrontations between Christians and Muslims during the...

SYRIA - Profile - Bashar Al Assad.(Biography)
November 22, 2004... Unlike his father who was a leader both feared and respected by the Syrian people and was a pivotal figure in the Middle East, Bashar is a shy and gentle person. Bashar became president in July 2000. The only way for Bashar's presidency to...

SYRIA - Profile - Mohammed Naji Al Otari.(Brief Article)(Biography)
November 22, 2004... The second Prime Minister in the regime of Bashar Al Assad, Otari was appointed to this post on Sept. 10, 2003 to succeed Mohammed Mustafa Miro. Among other things, the prime minister is formally in charge of oil and gas exports or imports as...