President al - Assad indicated he would be different kind of leader to his father . But many say al - Assad 's promises have largely not been delivered . One former vice - president says Bashar al - Islam is both brutal and indecisive . He told the Wall Street Journal last year : `` There are many things that we wanted to do in 2005 we are planning to do in the year 2012 , seven years later . '' Al - Assad and his close - knit government are locked in for what could be long war of attrition .
President al - Assad indicated he would be different kind of leader to his father . But many say al - Assad 's promises have largely not been delivered . One former vice - president says Bashar al - Islam is both brutal and indecisive . Al - Assad and his close - knit government are locked in for what could be long war of attrition .