In the aftermath of the war against Iraq and the fall from power of Saddam Hussein, considerable American attention has been turned to Syria. The Syrian regime of Bashar Assad -- who, like Saddam Hussein, presides over an authoritarian, autocratic, Baathist Party state -- has been severely warned by the Bush Administration about possibly harboring high-ranking Iraqi fugitives, and acquiring weapons of mass destruction. This has even led to media speculation about military action against Syria, though this appears unlikely.
However, the attention now being given to Syria merits an examination of the Syrian dictatorship. To what degree does it resemble and differ from that of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. In particular, how have the two regimes developed in recent years. The following discussion will examine these questions, considering the past, the recent period, and Syria's prospective future.
On the face of it, the government of Syria and the government of Iraq until the war appear to have a great deal in common (Suellentrop, 2003). Both are (or were) one-party dictatorships, specifically associated with the Baath Party. Both had a distinctly pro-Soviet alignment during the Cold War yearsBoth have displayed unwavering hostility toward Israel over the years. Both have been accused of association with international terrorism. Both were once client states of the Soviet Union.
Both have also at various times sent armies into neighboring states. Iraq invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. The first of these invasions led to a decade-long war which finally ended largely on Iranian terms. The second led to the 1991 Gulf War involving the United States and a large coalition of allies.
Syria sent armies against Israel in all of the Arab-Israeli wars between 1948 and 1973, with heavy losses on all four occasions. The 1967 war resulted in an Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, an occupation that continues t...