![Heads of Arab states gather ahead of a group photo during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. Russia criticised the Arab League on Wednesday for giving a seat formerly held by the Syrian government to a representative of the Syrian opposition at a summit in Doha. Picture taken March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/1-RTXXZJ1.jpg/1-RTXXZJ1.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=Ew91-QkL)
David W. Lesch is a professor of Middle East History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He has authored or edited 12 books, including: Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad; The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Assad and Modern Syria; The Arab Spring: Change and Resistance in the Middle East; The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History; and The Middle East and the United States: History, Politics, and Ideologies.
![Heads of Arab states gather ahead of a group photo during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. Russia criticised the Arab League on Wednesday for giving a seat formerly held by the Syrian government to a representative of the Syrian opposition at a summit in Doha. Picture taken March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/1-RTXXZJ1.jpg/1-RTXXZJ1.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=Ew91-QkL)
![A member of the Free Syrian Army rests at a front line in the Hanano area of Aleppo city in northern Syria October 10, 2012. REUTERS/Zain Karam (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2012/q4/RTR3902D.jpg/RTR3902D.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=6yu_u37L)
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David W. Lesch