[Trumpinator]

I thought 2 years ago that Assad had a private jet idling at Damascus Airport, waiting to whisk him off to Moscow. I was wrong. Assad-love him, hate him, he is one double-tough SOB.

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Assad is just a figure head - he is a smart man but he is not the father. He was like a fill in when the chosen successor to Assad, senior died or some such.

[Shadow44]

It was his older brother. He died in a car accident. Bashar was actually rather involved in medicine until then.