After four hundred years of indecisive Ottoman rule and three decades of struggle against the French mandate, the many diverse peoples of Syria were finally able to call Syria their own. However, independence is not synonymous with peace. Without a common enemy, the Syrian people recalled their differences and began to bicker among themselves. Even today, seventy years after the formation of the Syrian Arab Republic, peace is still a distant dream. In June 2000, Hafez al-Assad, then president of the former Ba'ath Party, died and his title was left, following an unfortunate accident, in the hands of his less determined second son, Bashar al-Assad. Assad. His death led to conflicts. Powerful confrontational forces, previously suppressed by the Baath Party regime, began to emerge again and Syria was plunged into conflict. The Syrian civil war crisis, generally considered to have begun under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, had much older roots, in the previous Baath Party government, fueled by external pressures, both from nature and foreign powers. of dissent that only flourished under the rule of a weak president who was never meant to lead, nor powerful enough, to lead. The Ba'ath Party, the Arabic name for "Renaissance" or "Resurrection" (Polk), was founded in 1947 by Michel Aflaq, a Syrian teacher whose views on nationalism won him the support of Arabs in the region. ("Profile") Quickly merging with other parties, the now Arab socialist Baath Party became real competition for its opposition as its popularity grew among the nation's students. Yet even when Ba'athism became the ruling Party, with power taking over the Party's military sectors, conflicts persisted. The Military Committee, moreover headed by a young H...... middle of paper ......nsions which were regularly prepared under a thin veneer of totalitarian control. Civil war broke out. Many "retired" members of Hafez's guard defected and Bashar prepared for battle. The most common misconception is that Bashar al-Assad is responsible for the rebellion. That he was somehow entirely responsible for the situation in his country. The country was forced upon him by a dying father. Bashar never wanted to lead. It was Bassel's job. However, with Bassel's death, Bachar no longer had a choice. And when he started to suppress the protests, everything went downhill. There is no particular reason for the civil war in Syria. It is the culmination of reasons that go beyond Al-Assad, and even beyond the Baath Party. Syria is a highly contested region and has been in conflict for centuries. It will take more than a few timid reforms and a weak leader to change this..