Volume 31, Number 18 · November 22, 1984
'War of Liberation' A Talk with the Syrian Defense Minister
By Der Spiegel, Mustafa Tlas, Translated by Edna McCown
Mustafa Tlas, the Syrian minister of defense, has been a friend of the current head of state, President Hafiz al-Assad, since their service together in Egypt. Together with Assad he took part in a conspiracy that at first landed him in jail and then eventually brought his friend to power. Promoted by Assad, Tlas, a tank commander, rose to lieutenant-general and, in 1972, minister of defense. Tlas is fifty-two. He completed general staff training at the Voroshilov Academy in Moscow and is considered an energetic advocate of close ties between Syria and the Soviet Union and of a hard line in the Middle East conflict. He has written treatises on military history and published several volumes of poetry. This interview took place in Damascus with two editors of Der Spiegel.
Feature, 5659 words
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