Disputes - international:
none
Illicit drugs:
a major international financial center vulnerable to the layering
and integration stages of money laundering; despite significant
legislation and reporting requirements, secrecy rules persist and
nonresidents are permitted to conduct business through offshore
entities and various intermediaries; transit country for and
consumer of South American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin
This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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@Syria
Introduction Syria
Background:
Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I,
France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The
country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a
series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with
Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic, but in
September 1961 the two entities separated and the Syrian Arab
Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a
member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect,
seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to
the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan
Heights to Israel, and over the past decade Syria and Israel have
held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of
President al-ASAD in July 2000, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was
approved as president by popular referendum. Syrian troops -
stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role -
were withdrawn in April of 2005.
Geography Syria
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and
Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
35 00 N, 38 00 E