FOR all the talk about the need to instill democratic freedoms , Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Bashar al-Assad of Syria have bet they can continue to hold tight to the reins of power , if they can just improve their countries ' economies .
Bashar al-Assad
Syria
/people/person/nationality
PERSON
Hosni Mubarak
LOCATION
Egypt
PERSON
Bashar al-Assad
LOCATION
Syria