Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview Shmuel Bar ...

380 S. Bar The ups and downs in relations between the Makhlouf family and Maher al-Asad onone hand, and the close relations between Bushra and Rami Makhlouf on the other;and The “black sheep” of the family, Bashar’s second cousin Numeir al-Asad, who led agang in Latakiya and was arrested, and Mundher al-Asad, the son of Bashar’s uncleJamil, who was arrested (2005) at Beirut airport.Obviously, Bashar’s level of commitment to the various branches of the extended familydiffers from one to the other. It is widely believed that the restraining hand of his motherholds him and Maher back from taking over some of their cousins’ assets. Therefore, itcan be expected that at some point Bashar may “crack down” on the corruption of hiscousins, and thus prove again his anticorruption and reformist tendencies. According tosome reports, there already has been tension between Maher and Rami Makhlouf and thefamily has considered moving the center of its activities to Dubai.Other members of the older generation of the Asad family have been sidelined or evenbanished. These include Hafez al-Asad’s brother, Rifaat Al-Asad, and his son Somar (Hafezal-Asad’s other brother, Jamal, died in late 2004 and had been marginalized for some timeprior to his death). Rifa’t and Somar are the only members of the family who clearly areopposed to the rule of Bashar. Rifa’t ran afoul of his brother when he seemed to be making abid for power during Hafez al-Asad’s illness in 1981, and he eventually left Syria for exile inEurope (though he continued to hold the formal title of vice president for security). Rif’atcontinues to promote his candidacy as a replacement for Bashar. He has little influenceinside Syria and his record as the head of the infamous “Defence Companies” that wereinstrumental in putting down the Muslim Brotherhood in Ham’ah in 1981 is a politicalhandicap for any future non-Ba’th regime. However, he has certain strengths: it is said thathe still commands some loyalty inside the army and the Alawite community; he has a closepersonal relationship with Saudi Arabia’s new King Abdallah (one of Rifaat’s wives is asister of King Abdallah’s wife); his polygamous marriages, along with the marriages of hissons and daughters, have produced strong alliances and crosscutting ties with prominentfamilies and prestigious clans within Syria.A member of the nonorganic family who appears to have had a growing personalinfluence over Bashar is his wife Asma (Emma) Akhras al-Asad. Asma was born in Londonin 1975, the daughter of a wealthy Sunni family of Syrian origin. Her father, Fawaz Akhras,was a cardiologist and her mother Sahar served as first secretary at the Syrian Embassyin London. Asma took a degree from King’s College at London University and worked asan economic analyst. 59 Little is known about the relations between Bashar and Asma priorto their marriage, except that Bashar met Asma during his studies in London and stayedin contact with her, though their marriage after he became president came as a surpriseto many and was not preceded by any reporting on their courtship. The couple have threechildren, Hafez, Zein, and Kareem. According to some reports, Bashar’s mother opposedthe marriage on the grounds that Asma was Sunni. Lately, there have been reports aboutdifficulties in the life of the couple and extended visits of Asma with her family in London.Some sources have pointed out that Asma’s father, though he lived outside Syria, wasvery much a Syrian patriot and passed down to his daughter a pan-Arab worldview. She issaid to be in favor of economic and technological reform, but there is very little informationregarding her modes and areas of influence, or the extent to which she attempts to promoteher ideas in the face of the opposition of other family members. Unlike Bashar’s mother, whorarely appeared in public, Asma has played a relatively prominent public role. 60 However,there is no sign that Asma is involved in any of the wider consultations that Bashar holds