Abdul Halim Khaddam is Dead, Never Formally Apologised to the Syrian People Despite His Defection from the Assad Regime

Abdul Halim Khaddam died in his Parisian home fifteen years after fleeing Syria and defecting from the Assad regime. Khaddam played a significant role in ensuring the transition of power from Hafiz Al Assad to his son Bashar Al Assad. In spite of the hope that the Damascus Spring instilled in 2001, the Assad regime soon killed that hope by imprisoning those who opposed the Assad dynasty, and murdering those who called for political reform. Khaddam was one of Hafiz Al Assad’s most prominent Sunni arms in imposing his rule, and those who knew him said that he was among the Assad cabinet’s cruellest members. 
 
Those who oppose the Assad regime despised Khaddam for his role in consolidating the family into power, and throughout his years in exile he never once apologised to the Syrian people for how he shaped modern Syrian history, and during one of his TV appearances he went as far as to state that he never made a mistake during his political career. Nevertheless, the story of Khaddam’s political journey is one filled with atrocities and repeated usurpations. 
 
He was the governor of Quneitra during the 1967 War, and as governor he was the one who officially announced Israel’s annexation of the governorate on June 5, 1967. The announcement was made before Israel actually annexed the governorate, but his friend Hafiz Al Assad, who was then the Defence Minister, asked him to make the announcement. Shortly after the announcement, Assad ordered Syrian forces stationed near the Sea of Galilee to withdraw, something that would lead to many of said soldiers to be killed and left Quneitra susceptible for annexation. Moreover, Khaddam left the city in a taxi rather than his official vehicle was left parked outside the governorate building. Thus, Israeli forces annexed the abandoned governorate shortly afterwards.  
 
After Hafiz Al Assad’s coup in 1970, he gave his friend Khaddam the post of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Khaddam was in turn one of the spearheads that consolidated Assad’s power over Syria. As a diplomat he also worked to polish the regime’s international image after the 1982 Hama massacre. 
 
He became the Vice President of Syria in 1984, as well as one of Hafiz Al Assad’s closest associates. Additionally, he was Assad’s special envoy to Lebanon a post which he remained in from 1975 to 1998. Bashar Al Assad would become the envoy to Lebanon in 1998 four years after he returned from London upon the death of his elder brother in 1994. 
 
Abdul Halim Khaddam and his offspring are also guilty of transporting toxic nuclear waste into Syria and burying it in the Syrian Desert. The reason why this incident wasn’t investigated is because it was done under the knowledge and blessings of Hafiz Al Assad. While Khaddam gained monetary rewards for this crime, Assad gained a political award. At the time, the Assad regime was not on good terms with Palestinian authorities, however by getting rid of the nuclear waste, the regime was able to build bridges with Italian intelligence, which at the time had good relations with both the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) headed by George Habash. 
 
After the death of Hafiz Al Assad, Khaddam became the president of Syria for 40 days where he ensured that the line of succession presented in Hafiz’s final constitutional amendment is honoured thereby paving the way for Bashar Al Assad to succeed his father. He then became Bashar’s vice president, but little by little he started losing political importance and his power in the cabinet diminished. He then resigned from his post in 2005 during a Baath Party conference, but he remained a member of Baath Central Command. He then fled to Lebanon and from there he fled once again to his final exile destination Paris. During his exile he gave many televised interviews where he spoke about his defection from the Assad regime, which he accused of assassinating Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik El Hariri. He also expresses his loyalty to Hafiz Al Assad while simultaneously expressing disdain for his son Bashar. 
 
In 2006, Khaddam formed an opposition party called National Salvation Front in Syria with several members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was a strange development considering the fact that he spent a good chunk of his political career opposing the Muslim Brotherhood. Nevertheless, members of the MB left the party in 2009, making this latest political venture short-lived. Despite his defection from the regime, Khaddam never formally apologised for the torture he inflicted on the Syrian people, and the fact that he helped facilitate Bashar Al Assad into power.