Assad and Saladin

The newly restored western fortifications of the Citadel of Damascus with a modern equestrian statue of Saladin, an iconic figure in Syria's history. Those who are familiar with the late President Hafiz Assad' negotiating style recall the lengthy sessions endured by his American interlocutors in which he would inaugurate the exchange with an elaborate history of the land and its age-old experience with foreign invaders. Let's review -to quote but one example- what Mr. George Shultz, US Secretary of State under President Reagan had to say in his memoirs entitled "Turmoil and Triumph" about his meeting with Syria's leader in the early 1980's: 

"President Assad received me in his audience room at the modest presidential palace... The Syrians sat in a row along one wall; the Americans, in a row along the other. The room was devoid of decoration other than a painting depicting the victory of Saladin against the crusaders. The paintaing hung on the wall against the visitors: point taken". 

James Baker, US Secretary of State under Bush I was to be treated to a similar experience in the early 1990's. Mr. Assad's exchanges with Dr. Henry Kissinger in the 1970''s are quite famous (or notorious depending on one's view point), needless to say. But I digress...


Damascus: Hidden Treasures of the Old City
Brigid Keenan & Tim Beddow
Thames & Hudson May 2000