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You are 100% correct that the current Assad is nothing like his father. All he wanted to REALLY do was practice Opthamology in London but after his brother (Taher?) the next in line, died (”mysteriously”) in a car accident, his dad called him in.

When the Alawite tribe calls you in, you go, like the Cosa Nostra in Sicily. The family calls, you drop everything and show up.

Assad the junior is no Homs 1982 but all the old school hardcore Syrian generals (like Mustafa Tlas) still held the reigns of power and guided the young Opthamologist into power.

This happened around the time of Gulf War II and due to American thrusts into the Middle East, Syria quit her occupation of Lebanon and ushered in the “Cedar's Spring” revolution in Lebanon that petered out when the PM Harri was blown to bits. Now it's chaos and no government in Lebanon as their trash piles up.

Assad junior never wanted to be a tyrant but was forced to become one in this civil war. Anyway you cut it, Assad junior is indeed a war criminal but in the Middle East (except Israel) most leaders there are war criminals...