As Syria struggles through an ongoing civil war, and the terrorist group ISIS spreads
through the region.
There seems to be one person being blamed for the significant decline of the Middle
Eastern country.
So, is Bashar Al Assad ruining Syria?
Well, Syria was already suffering from a dynastic authoritarian regime since Assad’s father
seized power in the 1970s in a coup d’état [eh-tah].
When Bashar took over as the nepotistic ruler of Syria in 2000, he continued his father’s
repressive regime.
He instigated severe crackdowns on any political dissent, private or public.
The resulting backlash forced him to release a number of political prisoners to ease tensions,
but it didn’t work.
By 2011, when much of the Arab world was revolting during the Arab Spring, Assad authorized the
release of a significant number of terrorist leaders from prison.
These terrorists would soon after regroup to form ISIS.
This, coupled with violent crackdowns on protesters, turned the Arab Spring into an armed rebellion
by the Syrian opposition - pitting the Sunni Muslim majority against Assad’s “Alawite
Shia” minority.
As the civil war progressed, Assad continued arresting citizens and was personally implicated
in a number of war crimes by the UN, including the imprisonment and killings of his own citizens.
By 2015, some 200,000 political prisoners alone had been jailed for speaking out against
the regime.
Although most of the Arab League, along with the US and EU, have demanded that Assad step-down
as president, he instead ran for a third term in 2014.
His victory was widely considered illegitimate and the votes faked or coerced.
Recent reports suggest that Assad has been assisting ISIS militarily in their spread
across Syria.
In the meantime, Assad’s actions have forced 6.5 million residents out of their homes,
and 3 million out of the country, as well as decimating the economy and military.
Reports say that Syria would not return to pre-civil war conditions for another 30 years
at least, following the end of the conflict.
In short, Bashar al Assad is not only destroying Syria, but essentially helped facilitate the
formation and rise of ISIS.
The civil war has taken an incredibly tough toll on the people of Syria, and it’s resulted
in millions of refugees flooding the surrounding areas.
To learn about where they’re going, check out our video.
There’s a link to that video in the description below.
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