Syrian General Secretary Hafez al-Assad
1930-2000
"Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian Army, with its finger on the trigger, is united... I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation." May 1967
A member of the Baath Arab Socialist Party, Assad began his military
career in the Air Force, training as a fighter pilot in the former
Soviet Union. He was discharged from the military in 1961 due to his
outspoken stand against the Syrian cessation from Egypt. He was one of
the primary leaders of the resistance movement that eventually
established the Baath regime in 1963, becoming General Secretary i
n1966 after the overthrow of President Amin Hafiz. During the Six Day
War, Assad was quick to align
Syria with Egyptian President Nasser against Israel. However, after the
breakout of the war on June 5, Assad ordered his military to take a
cautious approach, and shell Israeli territory from behind Syrian
borders.
After the disgrace of the performance of the Syrian military during the Six Day War, internal strife within the government forced Assad to quickly, though peacefully, purge the Baath party of political dissonents. In 1973, Assad joined Egypt in attacking Israel during the Yom Kippur war. Although Assad's stance towards Israel became less harsh in the nineties, he never formally recognized Israel as a country or acknowledged its right to exist. Hafez al-Assad died of a heart attack in 2000, and was suceeded by his son Bashar al-Assad who is the current president of Syria.
After the disgrace of the performance of the Syrian military during the Six Day War, internal strife within the government forced Assad to quickly, though peacefully, purge the Baath party of political dissonents. In 1973, Assad joined Egypt in attacking Israel during the Yom Kippur war. Although Assad's stance towards Israel became less harsh in the nineties, he never formally recognized Israel as a country or acknowledged its right to exist. Hafez al-Assad died of a heart attack in 2000, and was suceeded by his son Bashar al-Assad who is the current president of Syria.