If there ever was a country in conflict, Syria is it. With the war in Iraq over and done with, the US government has placed Syria under its microscope. This book looks at some of the key issues and provides a needed background on this small country. A description and analysis of Syria's political, economic, social and national security systems and institutions and the examination of the interrelationships of the system and the ways all these elements are shaped by cultural factors. Particular attention is devoted to the people who make up the society, their origins, dominant beliefs and values, their common interests and the issues on which they are divided, the nature and extent of their involvement with national institutions, and their attitudes toward each other and toward their social system and political order.