When his Assad Sr. died and Bashar took over, I thought it would be a new day for Syria. Bashar struck me as a sweet and thoughtful person unlike his dad. I hate to hear all this. I'm hoping his father's cronies are still running things, and that Bashar is a pawn of sorts. Perhaps he wishes he would have remained an opthomologist. I can't help the feeling he does not like all this, but if he is actually spouting radical sentiments against Israel, then I don't know what to think.
It's just disappointing because I was really hoping Syria was on the road to modernization and cooperation after the death of Assad the Elder.
misplaced "his" second word, first sentence.