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Syrian Arab News Agency via EPA
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, photographed here with wife Asma al-Assad in February 2012, announced that she is pregnant with their fourth child.
A fawning profile of Syrian President Bashar Assad Monday revealed, as an aside to the larger story, that his wife Asma Assad is pregnant with their fourth child.
“The man seems calm and in control,” the al-Akhbar article says of Assad, whose country has been embroiled in a bloody civil war for 22 months. “His confidence level stands out. Also, there’s the news of the pregnancy of his wife Asma, which could not be dealt with as a simple personal matter between a couple.”
Asma Assad, 37, was born in London to upper-class Syrians. She was an investment banker before leaving England for Syria, where she married Assad two months after he assumed the presidency in 2000. Before him, his father Hafez Assad ruled the country for 30 years.
Asma Assad has not been seen recently – which Arab online news site Al Bawaba attributes to her pregnancy. Citing a Syrian news outlet, Al Bawaba reports that she was five months pregnant in November, which means her due date is imminent.
This also means she likely became pregnant in June, a remarkably violent month for Syria. United Nations monitors left the country that month because it was deemed too dangerous, and because Assad had refused to abide by cease-fires.
Eight thousand people had been killed in the conflict – the death toll is currently at 60,000, the U.N. estimates – and Syrian citizens were fleeing for the country’s borders. Thousands were leaving each day; now tens of thousands are leaving, most at night, dodging fire from Assad's troops.
Asma Assad had also become a controversial figure, with diplomatic wives around the world pleading with her to reason with her husband. Around the same time, a hacker had released thousands of emails from the Assads’ email accounts, revealing Asma Assad’s love for Chanel dresses and crystal-encrusted Louboutin shoes – and also her fierce loyalty to her husband and his hard-line approach.
The European Union then slapped her with sanctions, saying she could no longer travel to Europe or shop at European companies.
Vogue, meanwhile, had taken down a glowing profile of Asma Assad from 2011 – titled “A Rose in the Desert.” The Vogue piece, which is still available on a website dedicated to President Assad, begins: “Asma Assad is glamorous, young and very chic – the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies.”
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Does She Look Scared?
In real life, Yes, but in this picture, you are forced not to look scared when taking a professiona picture, so not really.
This whole thing is a f**king joke.
The European Union then slapped her with sanctions, saying she could no longer travel to Europe or shop at European companies.
^ The european union is a complete scum on the planet for doing this. Why BAN her from these privileges just because she is married to someone who we are forced to believe, is a TYRANT! This whole syrian rebellion is a complete f**king joke. Maybe he wouldn't be such a tyrant if all the stupid 8,000 people of syria wouldn't CHOOSE to destory their country with violence and break more nation laws destroying stuff just becuase they want an unnessesary democracy.
Also reading the comments on here, it is obvious that the american people are BRAIN WASHED into thinking that Assad is a tyrant because we believe that the whole middle east should be a democracy. The Middle East doesn't need a democracy since the region is too unstable to have one, so the people talking trash against Assad and his wife, you have just proven your american ignorance. Congratulations.
killing and having sex,don't get any better than that
He wasn't killing them, they were killing themselves. I am pretty sure you would do the same if you were in his position.
The little bastard will be named Damien.
I hate to admit it, Nihal, but what you say seems to be borne out - in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, now Syria and, it appears, Egypt. We in the West have grown so enamored of our form of government (not true democracy, but let that go) that we feel morally obliged to encourage the rest of the world to adopt some version of it. A secular crusade, if you will, that aims to convert the 'unenlightened' to the only true political faith. When, in reality, ours is the peculiar institution, and not necessarily the epitome of government. For each society, each culture that exists will evolve the type of government most appropriate to it, and who are we - or anyone - to say otherwise? As an amateur student of history, it maddens me to hear us proclaim so piously the virtues of democracy and self-determination, only to disapprove and often intercede and undo the outcome of another sovereign state's election. Mossadegh in Iran, Allende in Chile, now Morsi in Egypt, just a partial list of those democratically elected. As for the strongmen, dictators like Hussein, Mubarak, Diem, Marcos, Somoza, Pinochet, Karzai, Assad, ad nauseam, we tolerate them as long as it's convenient for us. Political cynicism of the first order . . .
We glorify diversity and human rights, yet flaunt the superiority of our economic and political systems and seek to remake the world in our image. Hubris and hypocrisy or live-and-let-live? Which shall it be, America?
they need be assassinated!
Keep your fingers crossed that the new arrival soon loses his Father to a drone strike.
Shortage of coathangers in Syria?
Very nice! While people are getting slaughtered by the thousands, Assad works off some of the stress.
On another note:
The US condemns Assad--I find that amusing. What do you think the US government would do if there was a major revolt? Answer: they would shoot you down just like Assad--and that task becomes increasingly easy for our government as they slowly erode our constitutional rights.
What kind of life do you think most of our politicians lead? How about their wives?
How much different are we than Syria in reality?
Arab nations seem to do best when a dictator rules--look at history. How's Iraq and Afghanistan working out? Egypt? Without dictators these people cannot govern themselves.
When the dictator is friendly to the US he's OK.
@MDRW, you said: Without dictators these people cannot govern themselves. That is what a freaking religion will do to people. Most Arabs cannot read or write, they depend on the mullah or whatever to do the reading. They treat women like slaves, and still try to live like they did 500 yrs ago.
They get mad because the rest of the world is passing them by. And many centuries ago, the Arabs were the ones who were more modern than the rest of the world. And what happened to them, they started fighting amongst themselves.
Today, they cannot repair any of their infrastructure, they have to hire outside help, which also makes them mad at the modern world. So yes, they need someone in charge with a strong hand, back by a strong military to keep the uneducated masses from harming themselves and each other.
And hopefully, Assid wins, because in the long run, it will save more lives than it has taken. But a lot of people can't or won't see that. Look who is helping the rebels, it's Al Quida or whatever those loser punks are called. Plus our own YELLOW ELEPHANTS wants us to get involved. Sure wish they would go over there and help out, then we wouldn't have to listen to them here.
Let them wear Skippies!
a baby will be born to a murderer and his wife...great.
satan in the grandfather. satan in the father. satan in the womb. Where's there's satan, there's Death, Death and Lots of Blood.
From the Vogue article that's been taken down, Mrs. Assad is portrayed as an intelligent and, before supporting the brutal repression of her people, a well-meaning and cultured "aristocrat" who worked at JP Morgan, was about to get an MBA from Harvard, and as First Lady started an NGO to help Syrian children and refugees, etc.
It seems women often get lured into the rich life-style and war mongering power trips of their Satanic spouses - take Barbara Bush, for example.
Your bed wetting lib idiot. Have a nice day.
JBK, You take the term "idiot" to never before seen heights.
If she is the first Syrian lady to get pregnant, how come there are so many Syrians?
I'm sure Obama will send a gift along with a US loan. Sorry, had to say it!!
Loan??? I thought he just gave the money away. He will probably be sending an apology for something. Throwing money and apologizing are the top two things he does best and from what I can see that is his foreign policy.
His wife looks like she could be one of those sex slaves. Her facial expression cries out for help. They will both hang soon.
I'll bet the little skank doesn't even have or raise the baby in their own country. I declare jihad on that woman and her evill spawn.
All of the kids are unlucky to be born from these two. They will live a life of isolation.
I wonder if she'll be stoned as an adulterer.
Of course, when Assad and his wife are finally caught by the rebels, what happens to them will be terribly unpleasant, regardless of her supposed pregnancy. She should flee Syria and get to some country where she can hide safely until Assad is deposed if she wants to successfully deliver her -- whatever it is.
Nero fiddled while Rome burned . . .
. . . and Assad's having orgasms while his country falls and thousands of his countrymen die. The Assad family is pathetic and if they don't get out of Syria soon, they'll be pathetically dead . . . but what the heck, let's just have more sex baby!!! No problems!
What else in there to do in a bunker ? I mean really ....
Actually, it is rumored that Eva Braun died a virgin.
Looks like the Syrian people aren't the only ones getting screwed.
And we care, why?
Does anyone remember that Saddam's youngest son Ali has been living with the Jordanian royal family. If she lasts long enough to deliver (and that's a big if), that baby can be placed with many of the ruling families.