For Hafez al-Assad, the calculation was clear. He had won power in Syria by outmaneuvering rivals and, when necessary, using force. His son would not have to repeat those steps to win power -- but likely would have to emulate his father to remain as president. Al-Assad groomed his son, gave him a military pedigree, toughened him. The path was set. The son in question was not Bashar al-Assad, the man now leading Syria in a spiraling civil war and toward a possible military strike by the United States. The son Hafez wanted to be president was his first-born, Bassel. Analysts say Hafez al-Assad was closest to Bassel. Bashar, as a child, was shy and modest. The father had a distant relationship with him.
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Hafez al-Assad ruled Syrian for decades with iron fist
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He hoped his son, Bassel, would succeed him
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Bashar made some reforms, but he has continued authoritarian rule
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