By John Munro When Syrian President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father in 2002, it was hoped that his accession to power would signal a break with the past. Bashar, it was said, was a modern man, a western-trained ophthalmologist, a gentle soul, more likely to make peace than war. Having inherited a basket-case of an economy, it was argued, Bashar’s primary concern would be to drag Syria into the modern ...