Then 9/11 happened. In 2003, despite their history with Iraq during the first Gulf War, the Assad government opposed the United States’ invasion and occupation of Iraq. But that didn’t stop the USA from using Syria as one of the main places where they sent their “ghost detainees” as part of a program known as “extraordinary rendition”. One of those detainees sent to Syria for torture was Canadian citizen Maher Arar. We also talk about the Kurds and the Druze, two minorities who play a large role in the civil war. And we also talk about the diplomatic cable, written in 2006 by William Roebuck, chargé d’affaires at the US embassy in Damascus, that talked about ways the U.S. could help overthrow the Assad regime. It was later leaked by Wikileaks.

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When Hafez al-Assad died in June 2000 he was succeeded by his youngest son Bashar as President and Syrian Regional Branch head. He was 35 years old. He later ran unopposed in an election, receiving 97.29 percent of the vote. Sounds legit to us. Early in his Presidency, The Damascus Spring happened – some reforms, followed by a brutal crackdown.

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We cover the last few decades of Hafez Al-Assad’s Presidency of Syria, including his support for America’s war on Iraq in 1991 and his brother Rifaat’s attempt at a coup.

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In this episode we continue to discuss the Lebanese civil war, the founding of the PLO (the Palestinian Liberation Organisation), Fatah, Hezbollah and the quick version of the Lebanese civil war from its genesis in 1975, how Syria got involved, right up until Syria was forced to leave the country in 2005 under mysterious circumstances.

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In this episode we discuss the Lebanese civil war which raged from 1975 – 1990 and claimed the lives of 120,000 people, with another 1,000,000 refugees. Syria played a huge role and their forces stayed in control of the country until 2005. We also explain a little about the “Eisenhower Doctrine” and the Suez Crisis that inspired it.

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In this episode we examine the US’ response to the OPEC oil sanctions of 1973. Kissinger promised to negotiate a settlement between Israel and Syria which was enough for Assad to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. But at the same time, and this was a closely held secret until 2016, Washington began negotiating with the Saudis, offering them technical support, military hardware and training, in exchange for petrodollars and, most importantly, assurances that there would never again be another oil embargo. Today the Saudi’s officially hold $117 billion of U.S. Treasury debt, making them one of America’s largest foreign creditors. We also continue the short version of Hafez Al-Assad’s reign, including the infamous 1982 insurrection in Hama lead by the Muslim Brotherhood, which lead to the Hama Massacre.

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Part 5 of our Syria series looks at the era of Hafez Al-Assad, 1970 – 2000. His rise through the ranks of the military, becoming a general in the air force, defense minister, and finally President after his own coup. His wars against Israel and his role in the OPEC crisis of 1973 which brought the economy of the world crashing down.

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Part 4 of our series on the Syrian civil war focuses on the history of the Alawites, a bizarre and minor Islamic sect that spent most of its 1100 year history being oppressed (and beheaded) by the Sunni majority – until Hafez al-Assad, an Alawite, became the President of Syria in 1970. They were originally called the Nusayris after Muhammad ibn Nusayr (died 868 CE) and considered by many Muslims to be worse than infidels, perhaps even secret Christians. So the Nusayris fled Iraq into northwestern Syria after being threatened with three fatwas. From that point on, Sunnis used the term “Nusayri” to mean “pariah.” An Ottoman decree in 1571 treated them as non-Muslims and Alawites were beheaded. When the Ottoman Empire crumbled and France claimed Syria, Nusayris stressed their affinity with Christianity and achieved an independent state under the French mandate in 1922. The Sunni majority considered army jobs as reserved for the poor. But the Alawites were a poor community and happily joined the army. So by the end of the French mandate, Alawites formed half of the eight infantry battalions – something the Sunni majority would soon learn to regret.

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Part 3 of our series on the Syrian civil war. We spend this episode talking about Saudi Arabia – from it’s founding in 1744, when Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the dynasty, joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, a strict puritanical form of Sunni Islam. We explain the fundamentalist Salafi movement in Islam, of which Wahhabism is a minor but important sect, and how Abdul Aziz, who created the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and changed his name to Ibn Saud, and his successors, have used the oil wealth of the country to spread Wahhabist ideas around the globe.

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Continuing our discussion about the Syrian civil war and the history that lead up to it, we pick up where we left off talking about the history of Iran, including the CIA’s covert overthrow of Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953, the US’ support over the next 20 years for Iran’s brutal Shah, and how that lead to the Islamic revolution under the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Iran–Iraq War (where Saddam Hussein was supported by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia) and The Algiers Accords.

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