The president’s speech yesterday was about a good as Bashar al-Assad could have done. If Assad’s first speech did him no favors, this one served him well. I was apprehensive at first when I saw him speaking without a written script, as he does not seem to have a professional speech writing staff that he [...]

President Bashar al-Assad’s Speech to the Syrian Parliament, Wednesday, March 30, 2011, following the wave of demonstrations, protest, and counter demonstrations that swept the country for the previous two weeks.

Mr. Speaker,
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the People’s Assembly,
It gives me a great pleasure to meet you once again in this distinguished place, to talk to [...]

This morning, I published responses from Syrians living abroad. Most were very disappointed in the speech. Here I am posting comments sent to me by Syrians, most of whom live in Syria. Some of the more glowing comments come from a Latakia-based, Arabic facebook list named – Baladi Habibi – Mamnu`a al-fitna -waylu illi yu`adina [...]

Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert
by Joan Juliet Buck | photographed by James Nachtwey
Vogue, February 25, 2011

Asma al-Assad is glamorous, young, and very chic—the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies. Her style is not the couture-and-bling dazzle of Middle Eastern power but a deliberate lack of adornment. She’s a rare combination: a thin, [...]

Thanks to Sharmine Narwani a Senior Associate at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University for alerting me to this interview with Assad copied below. Other wiki headlines are
Erdogan ‘Hates’ Israel in WikiLeaks Posting of U.S.-Turkey Talk
Gates tells Italians no weapons are coming from Iran to the Taliban…
Israel tried to coordinate Operation Cast Lead with [...]

Written by Camille Alexandre Otrakji
Syrian President Bashar Assad warned on Sunday “the prospects of war and confrontation are increasing”. The President was marking the 65th anniversary of the creation of the Syrian army.
“Syria reiterates its willingness in the just peace and consolidating bases of security and stability in this vital region of the world … [...]

David Lesch has published a overview article of Syrian politics since Bashar took power. He concentrates on quotes and impressions of the President from his interviews over the years. David returned this week from two weeks in Damascus. His latest impressions are not included in this article. Here are extracts from the article.
The Evolution of [...]

Alix Van Buren interviewed President Assad for La Repubblica, Italy’s premier Newspaper. Here is the full translation in English.
Is a new Cold War looming?
“The Russians never believed the Cold War ended. Neither did we. It only changed shape. It has evolved with time. Russia is reasserting itself. And the Cold War is just [...]

In this interview with Hizbullah’s TV station (copied below), President Assad invokes his speech of November 10 2005 given at the University of Damascus, in which he argued that Syria and the region had only two choices: resistance or chaos. “Resistance is the least costly option,” he explained. At the time, the Mehlis investigation [...]

John Wreford was among among the hundreds of Iraqi refugees inside a Damascus sports stadium this evening who listened to Tarek al-Hashemi kick of the election campaign. He sent this photo.
Iraq VP thanks Syria for embracing refugees
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Iraqi Vice President Tarek Al Hashemi accused powerful decision makers of stalling a major decision to [...]