9781422284445

S YRIA 14

over Syria. And in many ways, the world we know today dawned in ancient Syria. This region was the site of much of the ancient world’s traffic, as travelers frequently passed through going from one place to another. This position at the world’s crossroads deeply influenced Syria’s history and culture. Today, the remains of Syria’s rich and glorious past can be seen in the ruins and archaeological sites throughout the country, which reveal layer after layer of civi- lization. During the 1970s, a brutal dictator named Hafez al-Assad seized power in Syria through a coup . Once he gained power, Hafez al- Assad did not hesitate to use that power to crush anyone whom he thought posed a threat to his regime. For example, the Assad gov- ernment responded to a 1982 protest in the city of Hama by send- ing in military troops who massacred approximately 25,000 civil- ians. Internationally, Assad joined Egypt in waging a surprise attack against Israel in October 1973, and sent Syrian troops to intervene in a civil war in neighboring Lebanon in 1976; those troops allowed Syria to effectively control Lebanon for the next three decades. Syria’s poor human-rights record, as well as its sup- port for terrorist organizations led the United States to break off diplomatic relations, impose economic sanctions , and list the country as a “state sponsor of terrorism” in 1979.

Words to Understand in This Chapter

coup— short for coup d’etat, the sudden illegal overthrow of one government for another, usually by means of force. economic sanctions— penalties imposed by one country on another, in an effort to weaken the economy of the targeted nation. This, it is hoped, will make the targeted country change policies or behaviors that are considered undesirable or detrimental to the targeting nation.