Bashar al-Assad's inner circle

These are the guys that run the racket and repression in Syria...

Although Bashar al-Assad inherited Syria's presidency on his father's death in 2000, analysts say he does not have Hafez al-Assad's absolute grip on power. He is surrounded by military and intelligence figures, most of whom are either related to the president or are members of his minority Alawite community.

Here are some excerpts on two of, if not THE, main men from Bashar al-Assad's inner circle as reported by the BBC.

Maher al-Assad, Republican Guard chief

The president's youngest brother is said to be Syria's second most powerful man. He heads the Republican Guard, the elite force which protects the regime from domestic threats and is the only one permitted to enter Damascus, and commands the fourth armoured division. [...]

He has a reputation for being excessively violent and emotionally unstable, and allegedly shot [!!] and wounded his brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat. [...]

In 2005, Maher and Shawkat were both mentioned in a preliminary report by UN investigators as one of the people who might have planned the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.

When mass pro-democracy protests began in the southern city of Deraa in March 2011, Maher's fourth armoured division - which is deployed on Syrian territory bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and controls the capital's approaches - was sent in to crush them.

Rumours persist that Maher might challenge his brother's rule - much like his uncle Rifaat attempted to seize power from Hafez in 1983 - but there is no evidence that he has sufficient power to challenge his rule.

Rami Makhlouf

A first cousin of Bashar al-Assad, Mr Makhlouf is arguably the most powerful economic figure in Syria. He has been the subject of persistent accusations of corruption and cronyism, and analysts say no foreign companies can do business in Syria without his consent. [...]

U.S. Reacts to Fears of Rising Iranian Sway - WSJ.com

U.S. Reacts to Fear of Rising Iranian Sway

White House Eyes Islamist State While Strategizing in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria; But Its Approach Could Backfire

By JAY SOLOMON

• MIDDLE EAST NEWS
• MARCH 21, 2011, 6:59 P.M. ET

WASHINGTON—White House concerns that Iran's hand is being strengthened by recent events in the Middle East is central to its response to the turmoil, say U.S., European, and Arab officials.
President Barack Obama's decision last week to use military force against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces was made in part by his administration's fear that Western inaction could further embolden Tehran, these officials say.

Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Iran's Shiite government are locked in a battle for regional influence.
U.S. military planners are also concerned Iran could benefit from an overthrow of the monarchy in Bahrain, home to U.S. naval operations that help control the Persian Gulf's oil flow.

In Yemen, too, Washington's closest Arab allies, in particular Saudi Arabia, are worried the potential overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh could strengthen Iran in the region.

"Iran has a long history of attempting to meddle in the affairs of other countries."Riyadh briefly invaded Yemen last year to contain a rebel movement, known as the Houthis, which shares Tehran's Shiite faith and Arab states allege has received funding and arms from Iran.

"Everything the U.S. is doing to respond in the Middle East is colored by how this could hurt or help Iran," said a European official who has met with senior U.S. officials in recent weeks. "This might be an overreaction, but it's how people are viewing things."

Many Middle East analysts warn that Washington's Iran strategy could backfire. Tehran and its allies have been saying the Obama administration's varying approach to each uprising in the region is hypocritical, in particular its lukewarm condemnation of the Bahrain government's recent crackdown on a largely Shiite protest movement.

An overthrow of Bahrain's Sunni monarchy would likely produce a government more aligned with Tehran's interests.

"I ask some in the Arab and Islamic worlds: Why have you remained mum over the tyranny against our people in Bahrain," Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah party and a close Iran ally, said on Saturday. "Is it only because they are Shiites?"

Iran's leadership has sought to cast the Middle East's democratic wave as one that targets pro-American governments. But the turmoil has also rekindled a protest movement in Iran—the antithesis of a pro-U.S. government—that flared in 2009 following allegations that national elections were rigged. The White House has sought to cast Tehran as hypocritical—urging on protests in Arab nations, but suppressing them at home.

Over the weekend, Mr. Obama offered his strongest rhetorical support yet for Iran's youthful opposition movement.

"So far, the Iranian government has responded by demonstrating that it cares more about preserving its own power than respecting the rights of the Iranian people," Mr. Obama said in a video message that was beamed into Iran and translated into Persian to commemorate Nowruz, the Persian New Year. "These choices do not demonstrate strength, they show fear."

The U.S. Treasury Department last month for the first time imposed sanctions on Iranian officials solely for their alleged role in human-rights abuses and for playing a role in the crackdown on political dissidents.

The Obama administration is pushing the United Nations' Human Rights Council in Geneva to censure Iran for its alleged abuses and establish the first U.N. human rights investigator for the Islamic republic in a decade.