If Assad is seriously weakened or overthrown because of the current uprising, it will not only affect U.S. foreign policy. It is likely to have a spillover effect and upset the dynamic of the region, says Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian human-rights activist exiled in the U.S. and the founder of the Tharwa Foundation, an organization that promotes democracy in Syria.
“If the situation deteriorated in Syria as Assad himself is threatening … then frankly, Syria’s role in the future will become more and more of a destabilizing factor,” Abdulhamid says.
