Category: Regional & International Politics

Turmoil in Syria and The Regional Consequences

On May 25, 2011, I took part in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Panel on “TURMOIL IN SYRIA AND THE REGIONAL CONSEQUENCES.” Other speakers included: Tamara Wittes (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs – U.S. Department of State), Murhaf Jouejati (Professor of Middle East Studies – National Defense University), Itamar Rabinovich (Charles Bronfman Distinguished Nonresident Senior Fellow – Saban Center for Middle East Policy) and Paul Salem (Director, Carnegie Middle East Center). Here is the transcript, and here is the video.
Continue reading “Turmoil in Syria and The Regional Consequences” →

White House invites Arab bloggers to Obama’s Middle East speech

By Joby Warrick, The Washington Post

Of the dozens of journalists covering the speech live from the State Department, few had a greater personal stake in President Obama’s words on the Middle East than Ammar Abdulhamid.

The 44-year-old Marylander is a Syrian exile and democratic activist who contributes to several blogs closely followed by his former countrymen in Syria, where a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters has left hundreds dead. From the minute Obama began his much-anticipated speech on Thursday, Abdulhamid’s cell phone buzzed with emails and texts from readers anxious to learn details. Continue reading “White House invites Arab bloggers to Obama’s Middle East speech” →

Ammar attends President Obama’s speech on U.S. Policy in MENA

After weeks of demanding a strong statement by President Obama on the tragic developments in Syria, I was invited to attend his speech on U.S. policy towards the MENA region in view of the changes currently unfolding there. His references to Syria were encouraging, but were still below expectations, as he failed to call on Assad to leave. Nonetheless, one cannot expect President Obama to take such drastic step until the opposition got its act together. After which, I was interviewed at some length by The Washington Post.  Continue reading “Ammar attends President Obama’s speech on U.S. Policy in MENA” →