A look at Myanmar's military junta

Here's a look at the insular military leadership behind the recent crackdown in Myanmar:

WHO THEY ARE

First among equals in the current regime is Senior Gen. Than Shwe. He is said to be superstitious and to consult with astrologers, but otherwise has a public image that is taciturn in the extreme. No. 2 is Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye, 69, whose reputation is, if anything, more ruthless than Than Shwe's, probably because he has more field combat experience from fighting ethnic rebels. Soldiers in the 400,000-strong military live secluded from civilian life in isolated barracks; their families are provided with housing as well.

HOW THEY CAME TO POWER

The State Peace and Development Council, as the ruling junta is formally known, replaced another dictatorship in 1988 after suppressing a pro-democracy uprising. The previous regime, led by Ne Win, destroyed what had been one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies, restricting tourist visas to one week and refusing all foreign investment.

HOW THEY KEEP THEIR POWER

Than Shwe's government has opened up the country to foreign investment. Myanmar is rich in natural resources, and has survived by cultivating investment in its potentially vast oil and gas reserves. Neighboring China and India curry favor with the junta because of Myanmar's strategic location on the Indian Ocean and its oil and natural gas resources. China is the regime's main ally, supplying the most aid and diplomatic muscle at international forums.

PREVIOUS RESISTENCE TO THEIR RULE

In 1988, the army violently suppressed mass demonstrations against 26 years of military dictatorship, though some members of the air force changed sides and supported the protesters. Monk-led street protests threatened the junta's power again after the government refused to accept the outcome of a 1990 vote, in which Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party took control of parliament. The regime responded with several months of raids on hundreds of pagodas and the arrests of hundreds of monks.