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Lack of freedom started civil war

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Protest began in Syria on January 26, 2011 demanding political reforms

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Government didn't act and protest spread

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Four boys were tortured and electrocuted for writing "your next assad" on wall

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People protested for the boys and the government treated it as a riot with teargas and fire from planes and soldiers

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May 2011, Syrian military responded with violent crackdowns

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Bashar promised new parliamentary elections, but no change came

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Confronted with many issues of international affairs, relationship with israeli, military occupation in Lebanon, tensions with Turkey, ETC.

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Protests continued

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By Fall 2011 countries were calling for Bashar's resignation

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Assad’s father (Hafez) subdued Muslim Brotherhood uprising in early 1980s through counterinsurgency

Relied on 3 strategies

Deploying most trusted military groups

Raising pro-regime militias

Using forces to clear insurgents

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Attempted unsuccessfully to apply fathers strategies in 2011-2012

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Reliance on small core of trusted military units limited ability to control all of Syria
Could not use all of his forces

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http://www.understandingwar.org/report/assad-regime

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"Syria chemical 'attack': What we know." BBC News. April 26, 2017. Accessed September 12, 2017. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39500947.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/syria-civil-war-explained-160505084119966.html#why_fighting_Syria

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https://www.biography.com/people/bashar-al-assad-20878575

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Bashar al-Assad relied on counterinsurgency for first year of conflict

Failed to put down revolution in 2011 accelerating descent into civil war

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Conflict turned into an official state of civil war in 2011 by UN

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Followed in the footsteps of his father

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August 2013, Bashar came under fire from leaders around the world for using chemical weapons against civilians

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By January 2012, more than 5,000 civilians were killed by Syrian militia and 1,000 people killed  by anti regime forces

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Born September 11, 1965

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Second son of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, and his wife, Anisa

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Hafez rose through the military to become president in 1970

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Grew up quiet, and learned to speak fluent french and english. Went on to study medicine

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Employed artillery, air power, bulldozers, sectarian massacres, and ballistic missiles to force Syrian population out of insurgent held areas.

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Killed over 80 people in a alleged chemical attack

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Brother was supposed to be president, but died in an automobile accident

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Hafez died on June 10, 2000, and Syrian Parliament voted to lower the minimum age for presidency from 40 to 34 so Bashar was eligible

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Stated that democracy was good, and seemed eager to move Syria to computer technology of 21st century

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Suspect to have been apart of the assassination of former Lebanese former premier Rafik Hariri which started uprising in Lebanon

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Despite his promises not much changed

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Political opponents of Bashar al-Assad are routinely tortured, imprisoned and killed

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By February 2016, estimated 470,000 deaths, and millions of refugees

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April 2017, another round of chemical weapons was dropped on citizens

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http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/elib/do/document?urn=urn:bigchalk:US;BCLib;document;130068132

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Economy was in bad shape when Bashar took over, but was starting to get computer technology

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2006 expanded travel ban, not letting many people leave or enter

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2007 Syrian Parliament passed a law requiring all comments on chat forums to be posted publicly.

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2008, and again in 2011, social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook were blocked