Coup In Syria

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Global Information SystemTel.: +1 (703) 548-1070Fax: +1 (703) 684-7476.PO Box 20407Alexandria, Virginia 22320, USA.Entire site Copyright © 2005, Global Information System, International Strategic Studies AssociationFounded in 1972. Formerly Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily.Volume XXIII, No. 43 Friday, April 8, 2005[Excerpt referring to Syria.]
The eventual resumption of the intifada, perhaps sooner rather than later, would also prove particularly beneficial to Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Asad. Pres. Asad faced continued difficulties not only in Lebanon but also among the Syrian leadership in Damascus. Through April 2005 the situation remained unclear; GIS sources confirmed that the situation remained “confusing” with a great deal of “contradictory information” emanating from the Syrian capital. The confusion began on March 16, 2005, when rumors began to circulate throughout the region of a leadership struggle in Damascus. The first published report came from the Lebanese Foundation for Peace (LFP) , a US and Israeli based opposition group, which reported on its website on March 16:“A Coup d' Etat took place in Damascus late last night. Intelligence reports coming from within the Syrian Military Command indicate the following: A rebellion split The Syrian Army in two factions. Since yesterday, Damascus is under the de facto control of the Syrian Army, under the command of Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan, and supported by Syrian Intelligence General Rustom Ghazaleh, Syrian military General Ali Safi, and Firas Tlass son of former Minister of Defense, Mustafa Tlass. The group rebelled against the decision of President Bashar el Assad to withdraw from Lebanon and seized the Damascus military yesterday. Around 3 am, Damascus time, the Syrian Air Force bombarded two military airfields around Damascus, the Air force base of Dumair, and the Air force base of Katana. Also, late night around 3 am, the Syrian Air force bombarded military positions of the Syrian Army west of the city of Homs. President Bachar el Assad retreated secretly to the city of Aleppo where he is temporarily holding ground. He is massing special forces troops loyal to him and preparing himself to take back Damascus by force.”GIS sources detected similar rumors from separate sources the same day and, according to one GIS source, a number of US news networks were given similar retellings of the day’s events. Despite this, GIS sources could not confirm these reports and, indeed, by April 6, 2005, it did appear that Pres. Asad remained in control of the Syrian Government. However, GIS sources did note that Pres. Asad had indeed spent a lot of time in Aleppo of late. What that indicated, though, other than giving credence to one facet of the initial reports, remained unclear. At the very least, though, someone in Damascus had purposefully organized a string of leaks to attempting to appraise the international community, specifically the US it appeared based on the channels used, of the possibility of an internally inspired “regime change” in Syria. The implications of this alone for Pres. Asad remained stark and would likely only emphasize the need, in his eyes, for the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iraqi intifada in order to regain Arab unity again Israel, the US and the West and distract attention from the degrading situation in Lebanon; a situation Syria continued to seek to keep at “steady boiling point” by means of small-scale warfare designed to exacerbate ethnic and sectarian divides in order to prove the necessity of the Syrian presence.Strategy2005: The Global Strategic ForumStrategy2005 Forum Discusses The Revolution inStrategic Affairs; Speakers Being AnnouncedStrategy2005: The Global Strategic Forum, which will be held in Washington, DC, on May 25-27, 2005, will undertake see the presentation of substantial new strategic intelligence on key issues affecting analysts and policy officials for the coming decade. The new framework is emerging as The Revolution in Strategic Affairs. Click here to see the draft program of the event.Apart from the conference leadership by strategists Gregory Copley and Yossef Bodansky, delegates will participate in discussions with noted People’s Liberation Army authority Richard Fisher; renowned nuclear, chemical and biological weapons expert and former UN weapons inspector Jack McGeorge; Iranian strategic authority Dr Assad Homayoun; Caucasus authority Richard Giragosian; narco-smuggling expert James Zackrison; and many others. They will also receive valuable course materials and follow-on reporting.The Strategy conference will again — as it has since 1983 — bring together senior defense, intelligence, and political officials from many countries in an atmosphere conducive to discussion at both the working sessions and the associated social gatherings — working breakfasts each day, two luncheons and a dinner — at which delegates will make important new contacts. Strategy2005 is open only to professionals in the fields of strategic policy, intelligence, defense and security, and government. This will be perhaps the most significant conference to discuss strategic issues within a global framework to be held in 2005. It is being organized and sponsored by the Global Information System (GIS), in association with the International Strategic Studies Association, Defense & Foreign Affairs, and Australia’s Center for Strategic Analysis, Future Directions International (FDI). Special discount rates for early registration have been arranged for GIS users.Please click onto the attached initial announcement and advanced registration form for details.Space will be extremely limited, and the two-and-a-half days of seminar sessions, luncheon and dinner discussions, will be intense and valuable for professionals. No media will be allowed, and all discussions will be off-therecord to ensure maximum dialog.Conference Chairman Gregory Copley has issued a Call for Papers. Responses should be addressed to him at:grcopley@strategicstudies.org.