Like so many dictators before them, the Assads somehow believed they would be immune to the forces of history. And like so many dictators before them, their dreams of dynasty have seemingly ended in ruin.
If not for his handsome older brother's appetite for risk, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad might still be a bookish ophthalmologist living in London.But on a foggy morning in 1994, the heir to his father's dictatorship made one choice that transformed the fate of his family, his country and himself.The 31-year-old army colonel jumped into his Mercedes and made for the airport so he could fly to the Alps for a skiing holiday with a friend.
And in 2000, at the age of 34, Bashar was hurtled onto the throne when his father died of a heart attack.Many within the ranks of his government did not want Syria to become a dynastic dictatorship — and certainly not one ruled by a seemingly shy doctor with a British-born wife and Western sensibilities.
Bashar and Asma knew their position was tenuous when he became Syria's leader at the turn of the century. Asma, meanwhile, was born to Sunni parents in the UK and worked as a London investment banker before she moved to Syria to marry Bashar. The notorious Islamic State terrorist group took control of about a third of Syrian territory in its bid to create a so-called caliphate, which collapsed in 2019.The Assad regime, backed by Iran, their Hezbollah allies, and eventually Russia, would seemingly stop at nothing to retain power.were taken to a notorious military prison and tortured.But even as war raged around her, Asma refused to leave her husband's side.
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