Bashar al-Assad, son of Syrian President Hafez al-

Revue Défense Nationale

DAMASCUS, SYRIA: Bashar al-Assad, son of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, stands under a portrait of his father 24 April 2000 in Damascus. (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)

Soldats 14-18
Syrian workers places a banner greeting Pope John Paul ll under a huge poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father Hafez al-Assad at the Abbasiin Stadium in Damascus May 4, 2001. The Pontiff arrives in the Syrian capital on Saturday for a historic visit.JS/GB