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Call of Duty

He appears in Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, I believe this should be mentioned in the article —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.75.99.237 (talk) 23:04, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Article locked?

Who locked this article and why? It seems suspiciously like the start of an attempt at polarised propaganda. I'd like to know who specifically locked this article and why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.161.252.227 (talk) 13:38, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

What does this mean?

During the campaign which went under the title of tactics, he was given the title of Guardian Hunter by his supporters.

• No idea, I will remove it right now, if anyone wants to put it back in, please discuss here. Asabbagh 08:28, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Exposure to West

I don't see a source for this. Moreover I see absolutely no relevance for this. Does "exposure" to the West mean something other than trivial information? Is it meant to meant that the extent of his exposure is an indicator of how "civilized" he is? I wonder how many people Asad has killed in the Middle East in comparison to say... ummmm... say the UK... no no wait... the US!! The west imposed sanctions in Iraq that killed more than 500,000 Iraqis which is why Densi Halliday and his successor both resigned from the UN in disgust and horror at their mandate of imposing the sanctions in Iraq which Halliday said was tantamount to "genocide." That's western imposed. Then there is the Iraq war and the fact that more Iraqi's have died as a result of the occupation that under Saddam's entire 23 years (I don't include the Iran-Iraq war and the gassing of Iranians because the West was actively encouraging hi

m and supplying him with weapons). Now let's look at Asad.. errrr... who?! Oh you mean that paragon of virtue, and fountain of civilization and humanity, yes I remember him. Edwardosaido 5:21, 2 October 2007 (GMT)

== Is it just me...

...or does he look ALOT like Steven Carell from 40 year old virgin in the first pic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.166.88.105 (talk) 20:04, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

He isn't so pure

No word about the fact that he gives a refuge for terror organizations like Islamic jihad and so on.Amirpedia 12:50, 14 July 2005 (UTC)

Not to mention that he's the current head of a rather vicious, brutal totalitarian regime? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.161.42.199 (talk • contribs) 07:51, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

I am a critic of Bashar; and I think it might be appropriate for questioning of his mental abilities, as rumors continue to circulate. However, without figures and actual sources for "Why he is brutal"-I'm not sure it is completely appropriate. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmw0000 (talk • contribs) 07:17, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Why anyone feels the need to question his mental abilities is perhaps more a reflection of their own questionable mental status. The man is an eloquent, incredibly smart, educated person. He has made massive efforts to try and gain western favor, and tried to peacefully negotiate the return of the Golan Heights which is Syrian land occupied for nearly 40 years by Israel. Edwardosaido 5:10, 2 October 2007 (GMT)

I didn't say he wasn't eloquent or bad at medicine (and thus uneducated). I was more questioning his sanity. But that said, please leave the SSNP off wikipedia. We don't need it.J. M. (talk) 06:30, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

You'd have to be extremely sane and clever to play with the West like he does right now, in spite of all the trouble they've tried to get him into. FunkMonk (talk) 06:40, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Further reading vs. references

We're supposed to cite sources, but we haven't so far in this article. Since we have quite a nice further reading section, if any of the books there were used as sources (or can corroborate the material of this article), can we confirm this and add them to a references section? Johnleemk | Talk 14:50, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

born in syria and an alawite, i know that history has been very cruel to our small sect. we are surrounded by a majority who had oppressed us and made us work as an almost endentured servitude for many years. we want what anyone wants, respect and to live in peace. we don't push our religion on anyone and we accept all as sons and daughters of god. please don't push syria into a choas of death and destruction as in iraq. let us talk, and then let live...together.

Bashar al-Assad: The Don Corleone of Arab Despots

The UN Security Council met in New York to consider the report by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis who has assembled compelling evidence pointing to the complicity of key figures in the Assad regime in the February 2005, Valentine's Day bombing of Hariri's motorcadein Beirut. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mideast Facts (talk • contribs) 03:49, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

Middle school gym class

Perhaps some mention should be made of Assad's striking resemblance to the one tall dorky kid in every school all the kids aimed for in dodge ball. NEMT 14:50, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

• Perhaps not. Asabbagh 08:33, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Pointless allegations of Syrian involvement in the Harboring of Militants...

If only one would face the truth of the matter, then I am sure that someone ought to know that the Baath party is strictly secular, moderate, and thus has almost no connection with the militants they are constantly accused of providing sanctuary for. They are a corrupt pack of wolves, I am sure of this, yet they are not radical. This in itself kills any arguement implicating them in the fruitless witchhunts for these "Terrorist cells" in a country which has reciev'd the mighty blow of American aid before, and wishes not to endure such again. Any fool with half a mind and a good amount of knowledge of the Al Assad dynasty should at least be able to comprehend their strict non-involvement with the political vacuum that is now Iraq (A comment directed strictly at the political situation there.) and therefore, by relation any and all Islamic "cells" and Nationalist movements save their own.

Please, come to thy senses, and prevent any such accusation from tainting this article.

Yes, I am quite against the Al Assad Regime. No need to invade it, it will die of old age shortly enough, just as the Ottomans before them did.

Seurat. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.44.188.19 (talk • contribs) 23:04, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Heir apparent

So if al-Assad were to die today, who is the heir apparent? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.1.58.223 (talk • contribs) 01:29, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Thats why he should have introduced cloning to syria instead of internet213.42.2.28 08:42, 12 September 2006 (UTC)Dolly the lamb

Title

Given that he went to medical school, shouldn't he be named in the opening paragraph as 'Dr. Basar al-Assad', as is customary in other biographical articles? Damburger 09:07, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

• This question sounds legitimate to me. He didn't just GO to med school, I believe in 6 years' time he must've practiced his specialty. Character assessment should not interfere in objective equal treatment. Misplaced Pages is NEUTRAL. Issar El-Aksab (talk) 23:24, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Major Clean-up Necessary

You have the most ruthless regime this side of the clerical dictatorship ruling the IRI-in power for over three and a half decades-with an extensive record of human rights abuses, illegal detentions, suppression of political dissent, and a massacre-Hama-which eclipsed Black September in scale, in addition to its harboring of fugitive Nazis, the leaders of nearly every major Islamic and proto-Marxist terrorist group in the Mid-east, potential chem-bio WMD programs, as well as assorted nefarious activity occuring in the Bekaa Valley, and yet there is no mention of any of these atrocities and crimes in the text of this article, which is hagiographic in tone. - Ruthfulbarbarity 13:17, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

How about cleaning the personal attacks from this talk page as well? --Astronaut 16:07, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

What Astronaut said. Asabbagh 08:42, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

"THE most ruthless regime"? According to whose classification of ruthlessness among regimes, effendim? Be they democratic or not, BTW : Adolf Hitler was initially brought to power by demagogy-filled, but unbiased and free national elections, we should never forget that. Democracy is no miracle protection against abuses either.

Back to topic, "the people demand to know your sources", sir. What ever made al-Assad such a uniquely horrible oppressor, compared to every single other arab world ruler? By all means, do quench our curiosity. It might bring some of us to concur with you then...

P.S.: Riddle me this, Batman: why was fellow-ruthless Ben Ali given sanctuary in Saudi Arabia, complete with his ton-and-a-half of looted national money? Was he too mellow for Assad's dark overlord standards?

I say, until further objective elements are presented, the international alignment of a dictator doesn't make them any worse (or better) than the countless others on this Allah-forsaken mudball. Here's looking at you, Plamegate. Issar El-Aksab (talk) 23:40, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

"Assad was criticized for Syria's presence in Lebanon which ended in 2005, and the US put Syria under sanctions partly because of this. He threatened many members of the Lebanese parliament in order to enforce the illegal accession of the pro-Syrian General Émile Lahoud to the Lebanese presidency in 1998."

A clean up is needed. Why is this mentioned if he didn't become president until 2000? He is NOT his father, this article seems intent on making him so. It looks like a feeble attempt character attack. Bashar, as far as I can tell has, done NOTHING particular offensive to anyone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.253.15.120 (talk) 02:08, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Citation needed?

Anonymous user added something about a speech impediment. Removed this until a source can be cited. --Astronaut 16:04, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Religion

Dear all, I have heard that the Pres. Assad is Alavi, but not Sunni Muslem. Is that so? thx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.42.21.75 (talk • contribs) 15:06, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, this is correct, as it is stated in the second paragraph of the article. Bertilvidet 15:16, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, if you look up Alawites, you'll find that they are Shi'ites and not Sunnis.

• The wife is Sunni, though. Funkynusayri 20:39, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Bashar al-Assad is a christian. Its clear when you see his wife and other female relatives do not cover their hair. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.228.246.156 (talk) 08:01, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Many Muslims in Syria and elsewhere don't cover their hair. Alawis in particular never wear hijab, but many sunni and shia women also don't. He's not christian.Yazan (talk) 08:21, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Correct: laic/modern muslims do not feel compelled to cover their women's hair with blushing embarrassment. His wife's attire simply indicates that he's no fundie, no matter who he politically supports. However, Pres. Barack Hussain Obama IS NOT muslim, in spite of tenacious (and sneaky!) rumor. ;-) Issar El-Aksab (talk) 23:51, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Israeli War in Lebanon

I am going to delete the sentence that talks about how Israel lost the War in Lebanon in the Summer of 2006. I find the assertion that Israel lost that war to be false, and I'm sure most would agree with me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.35.124.187 (talk • contribs) 06:34, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, especially since it wasn't a war as much as a massacre of the lebanese. People need to get their facts straight.

The Israelis started that war and weren't able to reach their aims, which mean they have lost the war.

Can i ask you the reason why you think its false info?? Or because you can not admit that they lost like the 76 war ??

I don't think that it is necessarily false, but it is probably unproveable either way. The Summer '06 Israeli-Lebanon war is one that is shielded with controversy and POV, and it's a war that is difficult to say whether there were "winners" and "losers," largely because the goals, intentions, and "aims" of both parties -- Hezbollah and IDF -- were never clearly articulated. For what it's worth, if you really want to talk about goals, then every Islamic Middle-Eastern country has lost every war with Israel, because the goal of destroying Israel has not come to fruition... Thus showing the uselessness of talking about goals in non-traditional wars (like that between Lebanon and Israel in '06). Mike Murray 20:31, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

OBE ?

Do you have a source for that statement? --213.155.224.232 11:06, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Shaa'b

"Shaa'b" seems to have the apostrophe in the wrong place.

Pic Change

Ive put a nice pic coz i dont think the old pic is nice

I've sourced another photo of Bashar & got the licence to use it, the quality is far better. I've changed the picture to the new one. Author - Ammar Abd Rabbo Source - http://flickr.com/photos/21499556@N04/2085667933/ License - Some rights reserved CC-BY-SA --rakkar (talk) 23:01, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

• Hmmm, is it better? It could be good for the body of the article, but as the main photo? I think a photo of only Bashar would be better. I'll mess with it and see how it looks. Funkynusayri (talk) 23:16, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I hear what you're saying. there are three possible photos, The headshot currently on the article with the floral design behind, the same photo with the designs shopped out and the Moscow photo I added. The reason I felt it was better was that the picture quality was much higher than the grainy headshot photos, and as well as depicting him normally, the grainy headshot photos make him look more like Basil Fawlty than usual. Do you think we should crop out his wife? --rakkar (talk) 03:04, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

• Yeah, I certainly agree that the quality of the newer picture is a lot better, but I think the picture of only Bashar standing in a suit fits more for the infobox, as well, it is more representative of how he usually looks and seems more "official". The newer picture is better to illustrate his personal life I think. Take a look at the George W. Bush article for example, where a more "formal" picture is used in the infobox, and more informal pictures of he and his family are used in the body of the article.

Just uploaded a bigger version of the image by the way. Funkynusayri (talk) 03:22, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Ophthalmologist?

Was he a practicing ophthalmologist and if so during which years?

Presidency

"Bashar resembles his father in every sense but is more subtly surgical in removing opposition."

This is unsourced and obviously POV. I believe a swift removal is in order. --76.241.79.48 (talk) 02:46, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Picture?

Is it just me or does the default look like a CGI/Graphic/Cartoon?

Wikifan12345 (talk) 01:52, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

I was wondering the same thing. 86.41.93.214 (talk) 13:06, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

HOLOCAUST DENIER?

Personally ,Bashar al-Assad is a Holocaust denier himself , claiming that he doesn't have "any clue how Jews were killed or how many were killed" and that while a massacre of Jews took place during World War II, the perception in the Middle East is that the number of Holocaust victims was exaggerated. Links are http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3233327,00.html and http://www.learntoquestion.com/resources/database/archives/001376.html LeUrsidae96 (talk) 09:23, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

"that while a massacre of Jews took place during World War II, the perception in the Middle East is that the number of Holocaust victims was exaggerated."... He might be a lot of terrible things, but he's certainly not a Holocaust denier. Yazan (talk) 09:44, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

He might not be one,but he gives aid and comfort to Holocaust deniers.Look at link for more info.http://www.adl.org/PresRele/HolocaustDenial_83/4897_83.htm However,he says the numbers of those murdered during the holocaust are exagerrated.Link is http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3233327,00.html LeUrsidae96 (talk) 13:14, 26 July 2009 (UTC) I welcome your view,but it is best if you have evidence. Besides,not all middle-easterners have the same view.For instance,take Ahmadinejad.He is a Holocaust denier. 09:36, 28 July 2009 (UTC) Also,claims that the Holocaust numbers were exagerrated is considered Holocaust denial.For more information, see wikipedia article on Holocaust denial. LeUrsidae96 (talk) 06:15, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

You are deliberately distorting the source and adding POV material, he also said that "The Syrian leader added that he did not know whether the killing of Jews was carried out through shootings or the use of gas chambers, noting he is not an expert on the matter." and however, "The killing method or number of victims are not important, Assad argued." I am reverting. If you feel this is very important then you might want to file for an RfC. Yazan (talk) 06:20, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

najad said he doesn't believe it happened. Assad said numbers don't matter, a massacre is a massacre! read the source, PLEASE! Yazan (talk) 06:23, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

I am not interested in filing an RfC,this will end here.also,please mind your etiquette.LeUrsidae96 (talk) 07:45, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

FRENCH?

I'm not exactly sure if he can speak French.If he can,what level is it? LeUrsidae96 (talk) 13:22, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

The article says "casual conversational French". He studied at al-Hurriya, which is a very francophone-oriented school, so I'm fairly certain he speaks very good french.

"Women have no souls" according to al-Assad.

Bashar al-Assad believes that women have no souls. Maybe that could be added the article.

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/cover072106.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.101.2.241 (talk) 04:09, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

No, that "could NOT be added to the article". So many things wrong with that recommendation, where to start?

- Why the anonymous letter-style "denounciation"? If you're not a registered user, it doesn't prevent you from mentioning a screen name, anything you like, but SOMETHING specific to you. Otherwise, what's to tell us you're not another professional spin-doctor or CIA agent lurker trying to manipulate Misplaced Pages, as has happened several times in the past? Not trying to sound ad hominem... but it's impossible to "ad hominem" an unknown person, anyway! Better that you introduce yourself open-facedly.

- Since Bashar al-Assad is not world-famous (like Ahmadinejad) for sensational polemic international statements, what's the relevance of that detail in an encyclopedic article? Should we also care whether he loves raw liver or despises Goethe's writings? Unless he's a notorious misogynist and it shows in the way he rules, that's rather pointless.

- There is no evidence that Assad is a very religious Alawite in the first place. The Baath is a laic party. Therefore I won't even bother to check whether that claim about Alawites is true in the first place. Irrelevant anyway. I myself was raised in a community whose religious belief is that "we're better than all the other miscreants", but I didn't adhere to that nonsense. "Objection, your Honor : hear-say!"

- Just because an article is published in a Western newspaper, is no guarantee of journalistic objectivity. Especially, media in anglo-saxon countries (like Canada) have many a time published unproven claims against "unfriendly regimes". It's called "fair game propaganda", baby. Not once does this Judi McLeod character remotely suggest having some sort of source for that "article". Give me a link to the official Syrian news agency REPORTING such a statement, in one form or another, originating from Assad himself, and I'll happily translate it myself to serve as a reliable reference. Because then, it could genuinely be called "news" from a meaningful source, in compliance with Misplaced Pages standards.

- The entire form and tone of that article you link to is... embarrassing, without anything specific to inform about. It doesn't report any NEWS. It's more like an editorial, and an organized pamphlet aimed against Assad to make him look bad to the readers. Throwing in anything and everything together at random, like nearly-official government propaganda against an "unfriendly regime". (Was Canada about to send unpopular reinforcements to Iraq in July 2006, I wonder?) The article's "catchy" title itself is never backed by any subsequent mention of a statement from the Syrian President. It was all just an excuse to reach the predictable negative, and still unbacked, conclusion. FYI, Bashar is VERY different from his father in at least one thing: in the second Gulf War waged by the US against Saddam, he backed the other side. In his days, old Hafez had sided with the Coalition...

In conclusion, I vouch for immediate dismissal. And I'm showing MY name. You can contact me anytime on my talk page: Issar El-Aksab (talk) 00:40, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Removal of sourced text

Jouejati argues that economic reforms have the potential to lead to political reforms.

The above cited text was removed in the last revision with the edit summary "ce", probably meaning "copy edit". I mention it here in case its removal was an oversight.

The link is dead but there is an archived copy here. I leave it to others whether and how this should be reinstated. Generally, please could editors be careful in how they decsribe their edits in the edit summaries. Removal of sourced text is more than copy editing, and removal of text sourced by dead links is definitely discouraged. -84user (talk) 12:32, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Weasel word alert?

With apologies, people, I need to raise the very sensitive issue of "terrorism" here. While there's no denying that Assad is an objective ally of some radical groups and allows/welcomes them in his country, I'm very bothered specifically by the formulation "He has been criticized for his sponsorship of terrorism". Do you see what I'm getting at here? "Aiding and abetting terrorism" is a hazardous claim, simply because he provides sanctum to Hamas figures. The whole Isreali-Palestinian issue is a notorious can of worms, one person's "terrorism" is another's "resistance against invasion and occupation", and it is not our role to take sides. A Misplaced Pages article needs to carefully formulate objective, factual terms. Now, if he had officially praised Osama in 2K1, that would be quite different.

Need I remind you that while the majority of 9/11 perpetrators came from openly fundamentalist Saudi Arabia, and so does much of their funding, that country's article never mentions any "sponsorship of terrorism"? And for good reason it doesn't! Shades of gray, folks. Shades of gray...

As for his links with Hezbollah, when was the last time the latter hijacked a plane or bombed random civilians in a western country? Theirs too is a delicate to define position nowadays, their two main activities being internal Lebanese affairs and their conflict with Israel, again rather military in nature. The whole world has changed a lot since the Eighties. Just because the US Department of Foreign Affairs keeps sticking the word "terrorists" to all anti-zionist movements does not turn geopolitical propaganda into objective encyclopedic facts.

And, finally, regarding the assassination of Rafik Hariri (which CAN qualify as terrorism... or as a mere political assassination, really), Syria has always adamantly denied any involvement, and the interntional investigation still hasn't concluded otherwise. Even if it did one day, there is heated debate about that institution's neutrality, especially relatively to the USA.

So, better to state WHO exactly is calling Assad "a sponsor of terrorism", rather than use general terms that "aid and abet" a failure of Misplaced Pages's beautiful and strict objectivity... a risk I rather intensely perceived on this very talk page! As the would-be cogs of an impeccable mechanism of worldwide knowledge, we have a duty to beware of all biases, including the very real propaganda tendancies of "the System" in the West. "Show me a politician and I'll show you a liar", as the proverb goes.

We all need to stay wary of our own, individual, cultural biases. I know I always try to. I'm having a very hard time finding a satisfactory reformulation of that bit in the introduction. Maybe I'll try an edit at some point. But the help of seasoned contributors more expert in the nuances of the English language would be welcome. Issar El-Aksab (talk) 01:17, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Lede

Ledes are being misused (and not just in this article) to project a certain view and weight which is not encyclopedic. We have the body of the article and various related articles (Syrian protests, Assad family, Hafez al-Assad et al) in which contentious statements can be addressed and discussed properly. Flatterworld (talk) 03:35, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Attitudes toward Judaism

Yesterday I created a new section in the article for part of the text below and gave it the name "Statements about Jews." Another editor reverted the addition claiming that the information was not notable – a claim I demonstrated to hold no water shortly thereafter by the addition of more notable sources. Next came another editor, expanding the addition but moving it from "Statements about Jews" to "Presidency"→"Arab-Israeli conflict." Now, there's nothing wrong with the expansion; I even welcome it. But why was the section moved into "Arab-Israeli conflict," as though anything in the Middle East relating to Jews is necessarily a feature of the conflict? That strikes me as editorializing – and a perplexing instance of it at that. Now, I've elected to keep the addition under "Presidency" out of consideration for those arguing that it does not deserve a primary section all its own; however, I've taken it out of "Arab-Israeli conflict" with which it has nothing to do and renamed the subsection "Attitudes toward Judaism." The reason is that there's no longer just a comment about Jews but also an example of Assad's policy toward Syrian Jewry.—Biosketch (talk) 09:32, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

During the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in 2001, Bashar al-Assad accused Jews of having killed Jesus and of having tried to kill Muhammad. "They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Mohammed," al-Assad said. On the other hand, Bashar has begun to fund the restoration of 10 synagogues, in Syria, and other buildings associated with Syria's Jewish community, which had numbered 30,000 in 1947.

References

1. "Polish experience shaped Pope's Jewish relations". CBC News. 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2011. The decision to beatify Pius IX, the pope who kidnapped a Jewish child in Bologna and who put Rome's Jews back in their ghetto, was one question mark. John Paul's silence in 2001 when Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said Jews had killed Christ and tried to kill Mohammad was another. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
2. "Pope appeals for Mideast peace". CNN. Damascus. 5 May 2001. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
3. Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 107th Congress, First Session. Government Printing Office. 2001. p. 7912. Retrieved 7 May 2011. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
4. "ADL Urges World and Religious Leaders to Denounce Syrian President's Anti-Jewish Diatribe Delivered in Presence of the Pope". Anti-Defamation League. New York. 6 May 2001. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
5. Jews in Damascus Restore Synagogues as Syria Tries to Foster Secular ImageBloomberg, By Massoud A. Derhally - Feb 7, 2011 9:11 AM GMT

Put it into another section, doesn't need a section of its own for one single statement, that is undue weight. FunkMonk (talk) 11:25, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

The concern of not wanting a discrete section for just a few lines is understood. There is also this article about Syria (and hence indirectly Assad) inviting an Israeli rabbi to visit the country. So there are two reasons not to subsume the addition under another section: 1. there is no section where it naturally belongs, and 2. there is still more information with which to expand the addition such that it could stand on its own weight.

On a related note, I've removing the words "and other buildings associated with Syria's Jewish community," because that's not written anywhere in the Bloomberg source.—Biosketch (talk) 11:48, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

I don't like things taken out of context. It's clear Assad was responding to something, and that 'something' was purposely left out, making it appear Assad suddenly, out of the blue, 'attacked' Catholics and Jews. After all these years o keeping Syria secular, you're claiming he harbors sectarian hatreds? Doesn't sound likely to me, just looks like the usual desperate cherry-picking of quotes. Flatterworld (talk) 14:39, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

You had better have a damn good reason for assuming bad faith and accusing me of deliberately leaving out context and cherry picking, otherwise I expect you to strike that comment out from your message immediately.—Biosketch (talk) 07:43, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I call it as I see it. Flatterworld (talk)

The paragraph should be integrated with the rest of the article - making a whole separate section around it is UNDUE (as if we made a separate section about his "attitude towards Christians", or even "attitude towards the English" etc). That paragraph is part of the subject of the Israel-Syria conflict, which includes the consequent loss of the Syrian Jewish community in 1948 and the deterioration of Synagogues etc; his 2001 statement is clearly relevant to the fact that his country is at war with the Jewish state.Avaya1 (talk) 15:29, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

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