The American Liberty League: its benefactors read like a who’s who of household products that are still familiar today. ibid.
In the summer of 1970 … the Sultan had been overthrown by his son Qaboos in a palace coup … Historians have long suspected London’s hand in the coup. Document: 23/11/2009, BBC Radio 4
Could the British have been behind a plot to overthrow the young Bolshevik regime and to kill Lenin and Trotsky? Document: 21/03/2011, BBC Radio 4 2011
It was one of the most dramatic aggressive operations of the early Cold War. A daring attempt jointly run by Britain and America to overthrow a communist regime by infiltrating resistance agents. Document: The Albania Operation, BBC Radio 4 2017
So if it wasn’t the evil genius Philby, why did it fail? … The capabilities of the Albanian secret police. ibid.
Now we are playing on the whole billiard table. Coups R Us, Stephen Kinzer, RT 2018
Libya 2011 Muammar Gaddafi killing; Guatemala 1954 Arbenz’s overthrow; Hawaii 1893 Lili’uokalani’s overthrow … ibid. captions
You have to make the person look evil. ibid. Kinzer
We sell the intervention as humanitarian intervention. ibid.
London 1993 Western Eye Hospital, Paddington: ‘And we had a middle eastern doctor, I think it was Bashar … That is the enigma.’ A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad, BBC 2018
Many have wondered how this former eye doctor and his British-born wife ended up running a regime accused of war crimes. Of gassing their own people. The answers lie with their family, a dynasty that has ruled Syria for over 40 years. Understand their sage and you’ll understand why their country now lies in ruins. ibid.
‘She wanted to be the first lady of Syria. Power became very important.’ ibid.
‘There’s a mafia-like character to the Assad family itself.’ ibid.
‘Bashar wanted to be loved by his people; he craved attention.’ ibid.
Bashar’s father, the man who started the dynasty: Hafez al-Assad … ‘This is a guy who lives in a world of conspiracy and paranoia.’ ibid.
In 1970 they masterminded a coup and threw the previous military leader in jail. And that is how the Assad family got control of Syria. ibid.
The next president will be Bashar’s elder brother, Bassel … ‘Bassel had been killed in a car accident.’ ibid. Bassel’s English teacher
Asma had been working as an investment banker for J P Morgan. She was then offered an MBA at Harvard … ‘It came at a time when I found the man I loved.’ ibid.
An election is held with only his [Bashar’s] name on the ballot. ibid.
Bashar and Asma are invited to London. ibid.
The reality of his government is just like their father’s. ibid.
He secretly releases Islamic fundamentalists from his prisons, arms them and sends them over the border to fight the Americans. ibid.
The Muslim fundamentalists that Bashar released will cross the border back into Syria and try to set up an Islamic state there. ibid.
Bashar al-Assad, a former eye doctor in West London, is now president of Syria. It’s a role he never expected. His older brother who had been groomed for the job had died in a car crash. A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad II
Controlling Lebanon was Bashar’s father’s legacy … He kept his troops there and slowly took a stranglehold over Lebanon’s politics and economy. He had to fight two wars against Israel to keep it. ibid.
It’s all gone wrong for Bashar. ibid.
More and more writers and political activists are sent to prison often without trial, many facing torture for criticising the regime. ibid.
Their government has been accused of killing political opponents and massacring prisoners. A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad III
‘Bashar al-Assad immediately began to feel a danger approaching him. But he did not admit this. On the contrary, he began to say, ‘Syria is not Tunisia.’’ ibid. Fiad Nassan Agha, former minister of culture
‘Putting down rebellion is a national, moral and religious duty.’ ibid. Bashar al-Assar
In June 2012 the United Nations declares that Syria is in a state of civil war. ibid.
Some people have been much more successful at seizing control than others. And their audacious power grabs have shaped the modern world. How to Stage a Coup, Netflix 2017
‘Julius Caesar: The Alpha and Omega of coups. He was the prototype for many reasons. He had this fanatically loyal army.’ ibid. Professor Nicholas O’Shaughnessy
Alexander is the gold standard of coups. ibid.
One man saw himself exactly in the model of Julius Caesar and shaped himself in his idol’s image – Napoleon Bonaparte. ibid.
Napoleon was one of the first rulers to try the art of media in his political ascension. ibid.
Lenin: perhaps the most inexplicable coup in history. ibid.
Mussolini 1922: He had taken control of the country after a march on Rome. ibid.
Rule 1 Page 1: Never march on Moscow. ibid.
‘Franco was a short dumpy little man with a funny moustache.’ ibid. Professor O’Shaughnessy
When it comes to schemers, Joseph Stalin is the gold standard. ibid.
Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great … ‘social climbing like I’ve never witnessed.’ ibid. historian
In the summer of 1991 secret orders were sent out from KGB headquarters to field officers throughout the Soviet Union. The chairman of the KGB, Vladimir Kryuchkov, had ordered a quarter of a million pairs of handcuffs and three hundred thousand arrest warrants, and cancelled all KGB leave. Citizens of Moscow knew nothing of all this until tanks were on the streets. The announcement didn’t reveal that President Gorbachev was under house arrest in his dacha in the Crimea. KGB: The Sword & The Shield III, BBC 2019
17th July 2014: Just after midday Flight MH17 takes off from Amsterdam bound for Kuala Lumpur. On board, the 298 passengers and crew … Three hours later MH17 is blown out of the sky over the Russian/Ukraine border. There are no survivors … Suspicion immediately falls on Ukraine’s nearest neighbour – Russia. Secret Wars Uncovered s1e1: Coup in Crimea, Sky History 2020
‘The annexation of Crimea was partly opportunistic and partly reactive. It was a response to what they saw as an aggressive extensive of western Europe.’ ibid. Anthony Brenton, British ambassador to Russia 2000-2008
Putin’s clandestine armies are sowing destruction, confusion and chaos across the region. ibid.
Crimea sits proudly at the top of the Black Sea. Crimea first became part of the Russian empire in the late eighteenth century. Catherine the Great, keen to expand her country’s influence in the east, sent her armies to occupy the region in 1768. But less than a century later, Russia was routed by Turkey and its western allies in a humiliating defeat in the Crimean war. ibid.
In 1954 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gifted Crimea back to Ukraine as part his programme of de-Stalinisation. ibid.
It holds more warheads than United Kingdom, China and France combined, making it the third largest nuclear power on Earth. ibid.
Ukraine will hand over this nuclear arsenal to be destroyed; in return, Russia will agree to respect the political integrity and independence of the whole of Ukraine, including Crimea. ibid.
Putin orders Russian special forces into Crimea and begins an audacious military coup. And it’s done and dusted before the West can do anything about it. ibid.
Russian forces go on to wage a military campaign in eastern Ukraine. ibid.
These peaceful demonstrations continue. They become known as the Orange Revolution. The Ukrainian Supreme Court declares the result [election] invalid, and orders a new election. On 23 January 2005 to the dismay of Vladimir Putin, [Viktor] Yushchenko finally wins the presidency of Ukraine. ibid.
In 2010 he [Putin] finally installs his puppet – Viktor Yanukovych. ibid.
As membership spreads eastwards, Nato troops and equipment are building up uncomfortably close to Russia’s border. ibid.
There is a secret army made up of mercenaries, volunteers and irregulars. ibid.
Over the course of time armies have changed beyond recognition as have the conduct and methods of combat. Their weapons have become more sophisticated and powerful. Their fighting skills broader and more adaptable to circumstances and terrains. But what remains unchanged is their innate ability when required to assume power over a country if and when the politicians fail. Secret Wars Uncovered s1e9: Coups D’etat
‘Coups usually occur when there is a lot of political uncertainly in the country.’ ibid. Professor Tim Forsyth
In 1969 Colonel Gaddafi tricked his way into power in Libya … Just seventy junior officers were responsible. ibid.