The Legacy of Hafez al-Assad / “Why Hafez al-Assad?”
By Nasser Kandil
On this day 24 years ago, Syria and many Arabs bid farewell to an esteemed figure who left an indelible mark on various issues and affairs. He presented a unique model of political and military leadership, championed economic and social visions with an exemplary self-sufficient state and great welfare. He possessed a deep strategic understanding, tactical superiority, and negotiation excellences in which he leveraged within Arab and international affairs.
On June 10, 2000, President Hafez al-Assad passed away.
– Despite all the distortion that targeted Syria’s reputation to inflict on the model of the Syrian state, the Syrians – under Al Assad’s rule, lived in a level of security, political, economic and social stability that was incomparable to Arab countries known for their strength, abundant resources and international standings. It was good enough that a citizen or a tourist could travel from Damascus to Aleppo after midnight without worrying about his security, and that the Syrian citizen could guarantee the education of his children as doctors and engineers for no more than a hundred dollars for each. Moreover, Syrian citizens enjoyed electricity, fuel, medical care, hospitalization and medicine at prices that could not burden even the poorest classes in the Syrian society. The Syrian food basket was the highly profiled self-sufficient Arab basket and amongst the top globally, and that the main consumer goods were available thanks to the thriving and competitive Syrian industry.
– Much can be said about Hafez al-Assad’s achievements, and many of his enemies have said about him what makes his admirers and those who believe in his experience and greatness unnecessary to enumerate his qualities and accomplishments. But in the current Arab reality, we must commemorate three major intellectual and political achievements that were inherited by the exceptional brilliance of this unique leader, and their returns are still present.
- President Hafez al-Assad is credited with adhering to establishing an ideological army in Syria, and thanks to this achievement that President Bashar al-Assad sponsored and developed with exceptional skill and efficiency despite the complexities and complications he endured in his time of ruling. Syria was able to confront an attempt of an overthrow, during which major Arab countries were unable to bear the consequences of, from armies, intelligence, media, fatwas and economy unrest, while the majority of the countries in the region formed a coalition to overthrow the Syria rule, this army withstand all attempts to overthrow it.
- President Hafez al-Assad is credited with the achievement of strategic alliance with Iran. He knew early on; the importance of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and its bias towards a concept of national security that recognises the dangers of US and the zionist entity and the other occupation supporting powers in the region. He moved against the prevailing Arab trend and endured a lot. Today, Iran is proving al-Assad’s foresight, when a war for Palestine starts, it will be in the front lines while many Arabs are watching in the sidelines, if not conspiring against the Palestinian cause. President Bashar al-Assad invested in this achievement and took it to a deeper level, and to a more expressive strategic partnership.
- Thanks to this visionary and insightful strategy of President Hafez al-Assad, the investment was in the resistance that emerged in Lebanon in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion in 1982. At the historical era of the Soviet Union declining, until its collapse, Syria continued support to the resistance without international support, at a time when Arabs witnessed the rush towards bilateral agreements with the Israeli entity between the Oslo Accords and the Wadi Araba Agreement. Syria alone resisted pressures, temptations and threats, until this resistance grew and its status and capabilities increased, and before his departure he was destined to witness its greatest victories by liberating southern Lebanon without negotiation and without conditions.
A trilogy of military prowess, tactical partnerships, and unwavering support for the resistance powers, a legacy left by Hafez al-Assad, Palestine serves as the constant compass and resistance is the enduring path, and these pillars, which President Bashar al-Assad further cemented, will continue shaping the Arab future in the region.
