Like Saddam, President Bashar al-Assad heads a secular regime that rules through brutal repression. The determination in the West to depose him in the name of human rights and democracy was perceived by the Sunni majority as an opportunity to overthrow their oppressor.
叙利亚的情况完全是这一局面的镜像。叙利亚是一个多成分国家，包括德鲁兹派、库尔德人、基督徒、少数犹太人、大量什叶派以及逊尼派多数。和萨达姆一样，总统巴沙尔·阿萨德领导着一个世俗政权，通过残酷镇压统治国家。西方决心以人权和民主的旗号推翻他在逊尼派多数看来乃是推翻压迫者的一次机会。