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In March 2011, Vogue ran a cover story about a โwildly democraticโ couple in the Middle East.

They were chic, sophisticated, progressive. They governed a bright spot on the map โ โa secular country where women earn as much as men and the Muslim veil is forbidden in universities, a place without bombings, unrest, or kidnappings.โ
They endorsed โactive citizenshipโ; they were family people and in their home, โWe all vote on what we want, and where.โ
They were the Assads โ a โrose in the desert,โ in Vogueโs words.
Soon, the only red in the desert would be blood.

Bashar al-Assad was born in Syria in 1965, the third of six children. When he was five, his father โ a military officer named Hafez al-Assad โ overthrew Syriaโs government and became the countryโs leader.
Bashar reaped the benefits of his fatherโs position, living in luxury in Damascus and attending an elite Syrian high school. Yet as he did so, the Syrian people suffered: In 1982, the year Bashar graduated, his father ordered the military to level Hama, a city where rebels had taken up arms against his regime. Up to 40,000 Syrian civilians died in that event, marking the deadliest single use of force by a Middle Eastern leader against their own people.
The lesson wouldnโt be lost on his son.

Shortly after Hafez took power in Syria, two Syrians emigrated to London where they ran a medical practice and welcomed a daughter, Asma, in 1975. Asma attended the UKโs top schools, studied computer science, and landed a job at JP Morgan. While she was launching her career, Bashar arrived in England to study ophthalmology. The pair would eventually meet at Syriaโs London embassy.
At the time, Bashar was relatively unimportant. Shy and lacking any apparent interest in politics, it was well known that his older brother โ a flashy military officer named Bassel โ would succeed his father in ruling Syria. Bashar seemed destined for a life of medicine.

The Assad family, c. 1993. Bashar is second from the back left; Bassel is to his right; Hafez is front right
In 1994, though, Bassel was driving at over 100 MPH in his Mercedes, rushing to catch a flight from Syria to Germany for a ski trip, when he crashed into a barrier and died instantly.
Hafez summoned Bashar back to Syria. Heโd never practice medicine again.
The rest of our deep dive tells the rise and fall of the Assads, and how a PR campaign whitewashed their crimes. You can sign up for a free trial at the button below. Once you do, you can access all our premium articles here. Thank you for supporting our mission!

Editorโs Note
The news doesnโt stop. Thank you for trusting us with it.
Weโll be back later this week with a deep dive onย Abu Mohammed al Jolani, the al-Qaeda fighter-turned-rebel leader who leads HTS, as mentioned in todayโs story. See you then.
โMax and Max
RocaNews co-founders