American policies are not set in stone. There have been thousands of documents like Clean Break that never amounted to anything but wishful thinking. They were either shelved in favor of other policy options or were simply overtaken by events. Those in the Middle East who fear the “ominous” content of Clean Break should realize that the implementation of it, no matter how influential its authors seem to be at this stage, could, nonetheless, be seriously undermined through the adoption of a more pragmatic and proactive attitude by the regimes and parties concerned. Continue reading “The Thin Heretical Line!”
Author: Ammar
A Syrian dreamer & dissident, not necessarily in that order.
Another Evening to Forget!
It’s been a while since I had such an outing with Mom. Indeed, we used to attend many of these functions together – receptions prepared by embassies to commemorate their national days, parties arranged by some production company to celebrate the successful end of a series, and celebrations arranged by Syria’s public TV, Theater, Radio, or the Artists Guild itself (as indeed was the case this time around) meant to commemorate some event or other. Continue reading “Another Evening to Forget!”
Syria’s Assad a work in progress
Quote in: The Star, MITCH POTTER MIDDLE EAST BUREAU
“I’m still waiting for him to be presidential. We need to hear his vision while there is still time,” Syrian dissident Ammar Abdulhamid told the Star.
“Either he will come out with a real re-creation of the entire modus operandi of this government, or he will pave the way for international sanctions and internal dissent, leading to implosion, eventually,” added Abdulhamid, the leader of a minority rights project who has been banned from travelling aboard.
Abdulhamid scoffs at what he views as lost decades dedicated to pan-Arab hopes.
“We have Palestinian refugees in Syria but no success to show for it. We have a half million Iraqis now, and prices for everything are going up. We spent 30 years in Lebanon and all we get is hatred,” Abdulhamid said. “Syria has always been the heartbeat of Arab nationalism, and where has it got us?”
But for all its problems, Assad’s Syria feels nowhere near as claustrophobic as Saddam’s Iraq. Here, mobile phones are everywhere, and rooftop dishes draw down satellite television on a scale that would have led to mass arrests in Baathist Iraq. And while the estimated 500 Internet cafes in Syria remain subject to state surveillance, young Syrians have become experts at improvising their way onto sites banned by the government.
Responses and Clarifications!
- To all those who expressed doubts about the possibility of a positive response from the Baath regime: indeed I am not that naïve, and I am quite cynical about the possibility of having the proposed plan adopted by the regime. But I do have to hope, don’t I? After all, the alternative to this seems to be isolation, sanctions and, eventually, invasion. Continue reading “Responses and Clarifications!”
