An Exiled Assad Plans a Return to Syria

[ECH1969]

WASHINGTON - Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syria's current leader, is putting himself forward as a possible successor to his nephew, prevailing upon friends in Saudi Arabia and Iraq's transitional assembly to press his case to a wary Washington.

Earlier this month, Rifaat, who is the exiled brother of Syria's former strongman, Hafez al-Assad, told some Lebanese papers that he was planning on making a triumphant return to Syria. His brother kicked him out of the country shortly after letting him return to Damascus for his mother's funeral in 1992.

Rifaat al-Assad is also said to have helped procure a witness, former intelligence officer Mohammed Saddiq, in the United Nations investigation into the murder of a former Lebanese prime minister, Rafiq Hariri. Mr. Saddiq, who the Syrians claim is a fraud, fled to France earlier this year.

On Monday, the former director of the congressional task force on terrorism and unconventional warfare, Yossef Bodansky, virtually announced Rifaat's candidacy to head Syria. Sitting across from Rifaat at a Paris restaurant, Mr. Bodansky said on the John Batchelor program on ABC Radio that his dinner companion enjoyed support from America and Saudi Arabia as the heir apparent to the crumbling Baathist regime in Damascus.

http://www.nysun.com/article/20760

[leveymg]

1. Read "A Clean Break" PNAC's plan: topple Iraq, Syria, then Iran.

Written by Wurmser, Feith and Perle:

http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm

Also see: http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=14213

[enigma000]

2. Another Baathist strongman?

Perhaps the PNAC plan is to forgo the messiness of occupation, insurgent fighting, constitution writing, elections, more elections, etc.

Just replace the Syrian dictator with a compliant Syrian dictator. So much more cost effective.

EDIT: spelling