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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Assad Family Selling off British Property |
| 2011-11-03 |
| The selling off of the property suggests see next paragraph the Assads are liquidating their assets in the chance the regime is forced from power in Syria. London property belonging to toppled dictators Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, was seized soon after they fell. According to the French satirical and current affairs magazine Charlie Hebdo who offices were recently firebombed Rifaat, Bashar al-Assad's uncle, "has sold off his huge property portfolio in the United States, London, Spain and France", with the clan wanting to "liquidate their overseas homes as quickly as possible". The liquidation of the properties was reportedly being carried out by two of Rifaat's four wives, as well as his children. |
| Posted by:Lord Garth |
| #1 I suspect that's the wrong explanation. They're probably selling because they're preempting the freezing of these assets in the event that Western governments begin to go after him for cracking down on Syrian dissidents. As Gaddafi discovered, when NATO comes calling, what he really needs are liquid assets close to home, so he can pay for food, weaponry and other things necessary to make war. If he really wants to stay in power, now is the time to make sure his air force and anti-aircraft batteries are in functioning order. If the guy isn't frantically buying all the anti-ship cruise missiles the Chinese and the Russians will sell him, he's not the brightest bulb in the Christmas tree. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-11-03 18:28 |