On April 24, 2008, I became the first Syrian citizen to deliver a testimony in the U.S. Congress. My co-panelists included my colleagues from the Brookings Institution: Martin Indyk and Peter Rodman. In the testimony I try to set the record straight on the deteriorating internal situation in Syria focusing on Assad’s weakening grip and signs of growing popular discontent. The text of the testimony can be found below, and also on the House Foreign Affairs Committee website. Continue reading “THE STATE OF SYRIA UNDER THE ASSADS & PROSPECTS FOR CHANGE”
Category: Papers & Essays
Of Exile, Guilt and Messianic Aspirations
Witness Magazine, Volume XX, 2006 – Special Issue: Exile in America
Guilt is a would-be messiah’s constant companion, so, naturally, as a man mired in messianic expectations, – and how could a liberal heretic working within the context of a traditional Arab-Muslim society not be so afflicted? – I am riddled with guilt.
Now guilt is quite the interesting emotion. One can feel it both for acting and for refraining from action. But things can get a little more complex when one examines the motives involved. Continue reading “Of Exile, Guilt and Messianic Aspirations”
Engaging Syria – Opportunity or Ambush?
The following is a bullet-point summary of my recent presentation at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. The “other side,” so to speak was represented by my favorite sparring partner Joshua Landis.
* Just as is case with military engagement, political engagement has its rules. The following is one such rule: when dealing with corrupt authoritarian regimes, especially when they seem to have some ideological motivation, no matter how minimal, you do not give more than you take, lest you end up creating a problem in the future that is bigger than the one you were trying to resolve. Continue reading “Engaging Syria – Opportunity or Ambush?”
Secularists & Islamists – The Promise & the Dread
This is the paper that I have prepared during my second stint as a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution (October 2005-March 2006). It, too, was too whimsical for publication as a Brookings policy paper. So, here it is. Continue reading “Secularists & Islamists – The Promise & the Dread”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 