Syria's 'Butcher of Hama' living in £10 million Mayfair townhouse

Daily Telegraph ^ | June 12, 2011 | G. Rayner

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Syria's 'Butcher of Hama' living in £10 million Mayfair townhouse The massacre of civilians in the rebellious Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughur has awoken terrible memories for the people of Hama, 60 miles to the north, where up to 40,000 people were killed during an uprising in 1982.

Rifaat al-Assad moved, more than a year ago, to a Georgian mansion off Park Lane

By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter 9:00PM BST 12 Jun 2011

Today, Mahar al-Assad, the bloodthirsty brother of President Bashar al-Assad, is the man leading his army on a mission of vengeance against those who have dared to challenge the brutal regime.

In 1982, it was Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of the previous president, who was accused of orchestrating the slaughter of the innocents.

But while Mahar al-Assad can expect to be hunted down and tried for crimes against humanity if the current regime is toppled, his uncle, dubbed “The Butcher of Hama”, is living in luxury in a £10 million townhouse in Mayfair, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Rifaat al-Assad, 73, the former vice president of Syria, moved more than a year ago to a Georgian mansion off Park Lane, next door to his son Ribal, 36, who lives in a similar property.

Ribal, who runs a protest group opposing the current regime in Syria and met the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, last week, appears regularly on British television as a critic of the current crackdown

[ken5050]

Realpolitik: 21st century version: The enemy of my enemy is my next-door neighbor..

[ClearCase_guy]

The super rich come in three major groupings:

1) Entertainers
2) Athletes
3) Government and Non-Government operatives who steal tens of millions, or billions of dollars from poor countries.

In addition, some businessmen reach the ranks of the super rich, but the deck is stacked against them, so this group isn't quite as large as you might think.

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EDITORIAL: The Nobama Doctrine - Washington TimesApr 27, 2011...
The precedent in Syria is far worse. In February 1982, Hafez al-Assad, father of the current strongman, ruthlessly put down a popular uprising in what became known as the Hama Massacre. Between 10,000 and 40,000 civilians were killed by Syrian troops, arguably the largest Mideast massacre in modern times. Since Assad the elder got away with it, Assad junior may assume he can too.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/27/the-nobama-doctrine/

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I have no sympathy for the Islamo-fascistic Muslim-Brotherhood who started the revolt in 1982, however, the massacre of 40,000 civilians (which for the most part were not involved) is a multiple crime against humanity.

[piasa]

That “popular uprising” in Hama was an uprising of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, the same people who as “refugees” settled in Madrid and Hamburg and recruited the cells in those cities which eventually plotted the 9/11 attacks on the US.

[piasa]

A “popular uprising” of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood...

[piasa]

Atta the 9/11 hijacker, though Egyptian, was affiliated with the Syrian Muslim Bro....
It was two SMB members- Darkazanli and Zammar- that recruited the Hamburg Cell that later attacked the US.