World's Most Dangerous Leaders (page 4 of 5)

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Illustrated by Roberto Parada

Four figures who threaten America's security. From left, Kim Jong-il, Bashar al-Assad, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chávez.

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They systematically consolidate power.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria

Vitals:

• 41 years old.
  
  
• Syria's president since 2000. Death of older brother -- who was intended heir to their father, Hafez al-Assad -- opened the door to the post.
  
  
• London-trained ophthalmologist who'd shown little interest in politics or military.
  
  
• Initially allowed more press freedom and released some political prisoners, a period known as Damascus Spring.
  
  
• Pressed by father's intimate allies, clamped down on dissent to protect Assad family dominance.

• Has actively assisted Islamic jihadists traveling through Syria into Iraq to fight American soldiers. David Schenker, an Arab specialist who worked for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, estimates that 90 percent of the suicide bombers who have killed Americans and Iraqis managed to enter Iraq via Syria.
  
  
• Closest ally in region is Iran, which shares the Shi'ite religious base with his family's Alawite sect, a minority population within Shi'ism.
  
  
• Enamored of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and provides his terror organization with sophisticated Syrian arms, including antitank weapons and antipersonnel rockets that have killed dozens of Israelis.
  
  
• Believed by Western intelligence to possess nerve gas, and is developing biological weapons.

• If Iran were to unleash Hezbollah against American interests, U.S. troops would face terrorists armed with Syrian weapons.
  
  
• Likely to keep ignoring warnings of the international community and continue to sponsor international terrorism and develop WMDs.
  
  
• According to Peter Brookes, a former CIA operative now with the Heritage Foundation, Syria's leadership "seems to be racing the mullahs of Iran to succeed Saddam Hussein's Iraq as the Middle East's most vile regime."

• • Politicians
• • Security Threats

• Cuba Without Castro
• What it could mean for America.
• 
• A Hezbollah Terrorist Cell in Charlotte, NC
• At first they seemed little more than small-town smugglers. Then the trail led to the world's most dangerous terrorists.
• 
• The War Within Islam
• America can't save the world from radical jihadists. But brave Muslims can.
• 
• Why the Middle East Hates America
• How America should respond to an angry Muslim world.
• 
• Speaking Out Against Radical Islam
• One woman is risking her life to speak the truth about radical Islam.
• 
• Cybersleuth Mom: Busting Terrorists Online
• From her home computer, Shannen Rossmiller helps take down terrorists.
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