From Eye Doctor to Ruthless Dictator: The Chronicles of Syria’s Bashar Assad
Bashar Assad never planned to enter the political arena.
However, he evolved into one of the most ruthless dictators globally. His tyrannical reign abruptly ended when opposition forces surged into Damascus on Saturday night, forcing both him and his military to flee.
Initially, Assad, the younger son of former Syrian president Hafez Assad, aimed to become an ophthalmologist. He pursued studies in Syria, then London, but his aspirations in medicine were derailed by the tragic death of his older brother Bassel in a car accident in 1994.
Over the following thirty years, international condemnation mounted against him due to his brutal chemical attacks that killed thousands of his own citizens. He sought assistance from Iran and Russia to resist efforts from the United States, its allies, and various terrorist factions attempting to oust him.
This is the story of how Assad transitioned from an unlikely candidate to the leader of a strategically vital Middle Eastern country, known for its significant Mediterranean port, to a despotic ruler. His departure was celebrated by many inside Syria and across the globe on Saturday.
Following His Father’s Legacy
Assad’s official ascent to power in June 2000 was met with skepticism and public ridicule. At just 35, he was perceived to lack the vital charisma and political savvy that made his father so well-liked, particularly in navigating Syria’s complex tribal politics.
Some speculated that he might become a more effective leader if he could hold onto power long enough.
“Bashar’s ineptitude risks squandering Hafez’s hard-fought authority,” wrote Daniel Pipes, founder of the Middle East Forum, in a June 2001 article. Describing Bashar at the end of his first year in office, he noted that he appeared “to be muddling through each day.”
“Unless he becomes significantly more cunning than he has yet demonstrated,” Pipes warned, “the Assad dynasty’s days might be numbered.”
By July 2006, Assad’s clout in the Middle East prompted then-President George W. Bush to label Syria—and Iran—as “the root cause” of terrorism that destabilized neighboring Lebanon.
“To manage this crisis, the world must engage with Hezbollah, Syria, and persist in isolating Iran,” Bush stated at that time.
A Complicated Situation
In 2011, in response to the wave of protests known as the Arab Spring, Assad executed a brutally harsh crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Syria.
In May, then-President Barack Obama declared Assad a murderer who had sanctioned “the mass detainment of his citizens,” leading Washington to intensify sanctions both on Syria and on Assad himself.
“The people of Syria have shown incredible bravery in demanding a shift towards democracy,” Obama remarked. “President Assad now faces a choice: either facilitate that transition or step aside.”
Despite international condemnation and a reputation for the cruelty of his regime, Assad’s wife was showcased in a Vogue magazine cover story, “A Rose in the Desert,” portraying the couple as a “wildly democratic” and family-oriented duo who enjoyed European vacations and mingled with American stars. The article, however, has since been removed.
At that time, however, reports claimed that Assad’s regime “had killed over 5,000 civilians, including hundreds of children, that year,” according to The Atlantic in January 2012.
By that point, Assad’s authority faced challenges from multiple directions, which led him to make larger concessions to Iran, its ally Hezbollah, and ultimately Russia to safeguard his leadership.
In August 2013, as the Syrian civil war reached its peak, Assad’s military launched rockets containing deadly Sarin gas—an internationally banned chemical weapon—into areas controlled by opposition forces outside Damascus, resulting in the deaths of as many as 1,700 individuals.
The outrage from Assad’s use of chemical weapons led to heightened opposition. His declining popularity made him increasingly dependent on foreign backing; when that support began to wane, so too did Assad’s control over his nation of over 20 million.
Assad’s Dependence on Iran and Russia Becomes His Downfall
As Assad’s regime teetered on the edge of collapse in 2013 and again in mid-2015, various foreign entities began to intervene, some at Assad’s invitation and some not.
“The conflict has unfolded in five distinct phases, involving foreign personalities and militias from numerous countries, regional governments, and global powers,” remarked Mona Yacoubian, who previously served as the deputy assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Over the years, loosely organized opposition factions were strengthened by various rebel groups and foreign supporters, including some dispatched by Iran, who joined in the conflict.
In an effort to support Assad’s regime, Iran deployed Hezbollah fighters and military advisors from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Subsequently, ISIS emerged, establishing an Islamic State caliphate that seized approximately one-third of Syria’s territory.
This situation led the U.S. to intervene and send its own personnel into the area. In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced advanced weaponry and air defense systems to counter the insurgent groups.
“The involvement of Hezbollah and Iran increased significantly,” stated Yacoubian.
With substantial backing from Iran and Russia, Assad regained control over a considerable portion of Syria. However, the Syrian conflict had widespread effects, impacting the entire Middle East and reaching deep into Europe, resulting in one of the most severe humanitarian crises since World War II.
Nevertheless, opposition groups continued to maintain a stronghold in northwestern Syria, where the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) gained influence.
HTS evolved from the Syrian faction of al-Qaida, originally recognized as the Nusra Front, but later distanced itself from al-Qaida and tried to present itself as a more moderate entity. The U.S. and the United Nations identified it as a terrorist organization.
In late November, as Russia focused on its war in Ukraine and Iran was entangled in its issues with Israel, the rebels—led by HTS—seized the opportunity. Within a week, they captured Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and by Saturday, Damascus. By Sunday, Assad reportedly fled to Russia.
