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NEPOTISM, CRONYISM, CORRUPTION
AND WEAKNESS
IN ARABDOM
MID-EAST REALITIES - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 7/4/00:
Hafez el-Assad may have maintained a kind of stoic dignity in
refusing to buckle to American and Israeli designs in the "peace process",
but after joining the American-Israeli plot to destroy Iraq and further
strengthen the de-facto American occupation of Arabia even that is in question.
What should not be in question is that Assad squandered a major
historic opportunity to help free the Arab world from the shackles of monarchy,
dictatorship and nepotism.
Assad and his Baath party, supposedly representing Arab nationalism
and unity, actually contributed little to either. During the years
of Assad's reign his country's economy and power dwindled, especially in
comparison to that of once little Israel nearby, and the Arab world has
rarely been more divided, infiltrated, and occupied in a variety of ways.
During the years of Assad the opportunity to build up serious
political, economic, and representational institutions was squandered.
Assad had the chance to modernize his country and help lead the Arab world
away from its fractured and castrated past toward a more united and assertive
future, a chance to lead the Arab world into the 21st century where change
is everywhere and democrat practices are dominant. Instead Assad
left Syria not that different than he found it; and left the entire Arab
world still fractured, corrupt, repressive, nepotistic, befuddled, occupied,
and overall weak.
The following was published by MER two years ago, long before
the recent death of Hafez el-Assad and the transfer of power to his son.
NEPOTISM, CRONYISM, AND WEAKNESS IN ARABDOM
MER - Washington - 7/9/98:
Among the major weaknesses of Arab States in the nepotistic and
sectarian nature of politics, even in so-called "progressive" and secular
regimes.
Rather than realizing that repression and nepotism bring weakness,
regimes in Damascus and Baghdad nevertheless rely on blood relatives and
cronies to keep themselves in power.
The end result is that a once thriving civilization is today
divided into more than 20 nation-states, many more feuding sub-groups,
and all together remains no match -- militarily, economically, or politically
-- for the little state of Israel.
The neo-tribal monarchistic "client regimes" -- like those in
Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait -- are even worse of course. There loyalty
to the King and blood relationships nearly completely determine who will
have meaningful power and wealth. In recent years these regimes have grafted
on practically powerless "consultative" institutions attempting to present
themselves in new and deceptive ways (along with purchasing and controlling
the media of course).
But real power and wealth remains with the tribal family that
rules and those it bestows its favors upon. Not surprisingly, non
of these states dares build a strong military for fear the regime itself
would eventually be overthrown -- another major reason the Israel has been
able to rule the region constantly defeating all the Arab armies singly
or together. In the more "secular" states like Egypt, Syria and Iraq, it
is the military from which power flows; but even then those who take power
resort to neo-tribal ways of governing and in many cases attempt to push
their sons to power after them. In the process much of the energy and political
capital available to these societies is drained off into sectarian feuding
while the serious social and economic problems that plague modern-day Arabdom
are left largely unresolved.
The following recent article describes what is today going on
in Syria as long-time strong-man (and former General) Hafez Assad attempts
to prepare the way for his remaining son Bachar.
ASSAD PREPARES SON TO RULE SYRIA
By Robert Fisk in Beirut
On the posters in Damascus, the legend is simple. "Basil, the Example: Bachar, the Future."
But the message on the walls of the Syrian capital is now made manifest, as President Hafez Assad prepares the way for his son, Dr Bachar Assad, a British-trained ophthalmologist, to become his successor.
In advance of Bachar Assad's appointment as head of the Regional Command of the Baath Party - and full colonel in the Syrian army - President Assad has pensioned off his chief of staff and fired his head of intelligence.
Basil Assad was the beloved son of the 78-year-old Syrian president, a genuinely popular horse riding champion, who was chief of presidential security while running a powerful anti-corruption campaign within the regime. In 1990, President Assad allowed himself to be called "Abu Basil" - father of Basil - a sure sign that the presidential mantle was supposed to fall upon the 31-year-old soldier.
In January 1994, driving his own Mercedes at speed through fog to Damascus Airport, Basil Assad collided with a motorway roundabout and died instantly.
Bachar, a more reticent and less public figure, was projected as a scientist rather than a soldier, fascinated by computer technology, he is head of Syria's computer science department.
But by 1994, at the age of 28, he graduated as a captain at the Military Academy at Homs after a course as a tank battalion commander. Within two months he was a major in the Presidential Guards, continuing his brother's campaign against corruption. By May of 1995, he was visiting President Elias Hrawi of Lebanon, where Syria keeps 22,000 troops, accompanied by two of Syria's top generals. The way was cleared for Bachar in February when President Assad dismissed his wayward brother Rifaat from the vice-presidency.
Rifaat Assad had ordered his T-72 tanks on to the streets of Damascus in 1984 after his brother had a heart attack. In full uniform, and accompanied only by Basil, Hafez Assad drove in his private car to confront the tanks. Rifaat's men left the streets and the Basil-Bachar dynasty was secured.
Officially, President Assad's successor is chosen through the constitution, but the army remains a frighteningly powerful institution. Last week, President Assad got rid of his allegedly corrupt head of civilian intelligence, Major- General Bashir Najjar, and retired 67-year-old General Hikmat Shehabi, who had been chief of staff for 24 years but who did not get on with Bachar. General Shehabi has been replaced by General Ali Aslan, an interesting figure whose reticence has tended to obscure an important military career.
In 1973, it was Aslan's Syrian 5th Division which almost recaptured the Golan heights from Israel by driving Israeli troops from the southern and central plateau. Major-General Mahmoud Al Saqqa, who commanded the Syrian contingent to the Allies in the Gulf War, has been appointed to succeed Najjar.
The Syrian regime may, however, suffer from a sectarian divide. President
Assad is an Alawi, as is Bachar. So are General Ali Aslan and General Ali
Douba. General Shehabi, meanwhile, is a Sunni as is General Najjar, his
successor, Major General Al Saqqa, and the Defence Minister, General Mustafa
Tlass. The regime's enemies will no doubt be working on that equation for
years.
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