HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024968.jpg
2.59 MB
Extraction Summary
3
People
4
Organizations
6
Locations
4
Events
2
Relationships
3
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Political analysis / report / article draft
File Size:
2.59 MB
Summary
This document appears to be page 11 of a political analysis or report (possibly an article draft) discussing the geopolitical history of Syria. It details the pressures faced by the Assad regime from the US and France following the 2003 Iraq invasion and the 2005 Hariri assassination. It also recounts the 1982 Hama massacre under Hafez al-Assad and compares it to the sectarian tensions and protests faced by Bashar al-Assad approximately thirty years later. The document bears a House Oversight footer.
People (3)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Rafik Hariri | Former Prime Minister (Lebanon) |
Assassinated in 2005, triggering the Lebanese crisis.
|
| Hafez al-Assad | Former President of Syria |
Put down the Muslim Brothers insurrection in 1982 with great violence.
|
| Bashar al-Assad | President of Syria |
Described as undergoing a 'harsh apprenticeship' and surviving regime-threatening crises.
|
Organizations (4)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| United States Government |
Invaded Iraq in 2003; pressured the Assad regime.
|
|
| Muslim Brothers |
Launched attacks starting in 1977; called on people to join protests in the later timeline.
|
|
| Ba'ath Party |
Officials killed by Muslim Brothers in Hama.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Source of the document (indicated by footer).
|
Timeline (4 events)
1977
Beginning of terrorist attacks by Muslim Brothers against the regime.
Syria
Muslim Brothers
Syrian Regime
1982
Massacres at Hama; Hafez al-Assad put down Muslim Brothers insurrection.
Hama, Syria
2005
Locations (6)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Site of 2003 invasion and occupation.
|
|
|
Primary subject of the analysis.
|
|
|
Mentioned regarding foreign policy and pressure.
|
|
|
Site of 2005 crisis; Syrian forces ousted from here.
|
|
|
Pressured the Assad regime alongside the US.
|
|
|
Central Syria; site of 1982 massacre.
|
Relationships (2)
Bashar described as having crises 'much like those his father confronted in his time.'
US pressured Assad regime; neocons intended Syria as next target.
Key Quotes (3)
"The cry for freedom risks being drowned by sectarian strife."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024968.jpg
Quote #1
"Had the United States been successful in Iraq, Syria would have been the next target, as pro-Israel neocons, the main architects of the Iraq war, had intended."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024968.jpg
Quote #2
"Having to live and survive in a hostile environment inevitably conferred great powers on the security services, guardians of the regime -- to the increasing resentment of"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024968.jpg
Quote #3
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,029 characters)
11
ordeal of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and the long occupation
that followed. Had the United States been successful in Iraq, Syria
would have been the next target, as pro-Israel neocons, the main
architects of the Iraq war, had intended. Syria was then confronted by
the 2005 Lebanese crisis, triggered by the assassination of former
prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syrian forces were ousted from Lebanon
and the Assad regime threatened with extinction by the combined
pressures of the United States and France.
There is also a much older memory that still hangs like a dark cloud --
that of the massacres at Hama in central Syria in 1982. It was then
that Hafez al-Assad put down, with great violence, an armed
insurrection by the Muslim Brothers. Beginning in 1977, this Islamic
group had launched a series of terrorist attacks against the regime,
murdering several of the president’s close associates and eventually
seizing control of Hama, where they killed Ba’ath Party and
government officials. The regime regained control of the town, but
only after a bloodbath in which between 10,000 and 20,000 people
lost their lives.
Thirty years later, some Islamists still dream of revenge, while
minorities such as the Alawites fear that if the regime were to fall,
they would be massacred in turn. Emerging from underground, the
Muslim Brothers have now called on the people to join the protests.
The cry for freedom risks being drowned by sectarian strife.
Such has been Bashar al-Assad’s harsh apprenticeship. He has had to
surmount a series of regime-threatening crises much like those his
father confronted in his time. Both Assads felt some satisfaction at
managing to survive them and thus provide Syria with a measure of
stability and security, especially compared with Iraq and Lebanon.
There was, however, a price to pay. Having to live and survive in a
hostile environment inevitably conferred great powers on the security
services, guardians of the regime -- to the increasing resentment of
that followed. Had the United States been successful in Iraq, Syria
would have been the next target, as pro-Israel neocons, the main
architects of the Iraq war, had intended. Syria was then confronted by
the 2005 Lebanese crisis, triggered by the assassination of former
prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syrian forces were ousted from Lebanon
and the Assad regime threatened with extinction by the combined
pressures of the United States and France.
There is also a much older memory that still hangs like a dark cloud --
that of the massacres at Hama in central Syria in 1982. It was then
that Hafez al-Assad put down, with great violence, an armed
insurrection by the Muslim Brothers. Beginning in 1977, this Islamic
group had launched a series of terrorist attacks against the regime,
murdering several of the president’s close associates and eventually
seizing control of Hama, where they killed Ba’ath Party and
government officials. The regime regained control of the town, but
only after a bloodbath in which between 10,000 and 20,000 people
lost their lives.
Thirty years later, some Islamists still dream of revenge, while
minorities such as the Alawites fear that if the regime were to fall,
they would be massacred in turn. Emerging from underground, the
Muslim Brothers have now called on the people to join the protests.
The cry for freedom risks being drowned by sectarian strife.
Such has been Bashar al-Assad’s harsh apprenticeship. He has had to
surmount a series of regime-threatening crises much like those his
father confronted in his time. Both Assads felt some satisfaction at
managing to survive them and thus provide Syria with a measure of
stability and security, especially compared with Iraq and Lebanon.
There was, however, a price to pay. Having to live and survive in a
hostile environment inevitably conferred great powers on the security
services, guardians of the regime -- to the increasing resentment of
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024968
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