Is Syria Next?

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld’s recent allegation that Syria is smuggling war materiale into Iraq raised the ominous prospect that Washington’s attention will turn toward Damascus, whenever it is finished with Baghdad.

Rumsfeld’s charge – vehemently denied by Syria – now tops the long list of unresolved issues in Syria’s relations with the United States: its open-ended military intervention in Lebanon; its continued support of Hizbollah there; its alleged involvement in the 1982 suicide attack against the Marines barrack in Beirut resulting in the death of 241 US soldiers; its continued support of various “outlawed” Palestinian groups; and Syria’s allegedly growing stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. Indeed, Syria has long been included on the State Department’s list of nations that support terrorism. Continue reading “Is Syria Next?” →

Old guard faces crisis as heat turns on Syria

Quotes in The Guardian:

Before the war, Syria denied having extensive trade relations with Iraq, even though they were worth $2bn a year and factories had set up special production lines to cope with the extra demand.

It also denied receiving oil from Iraq worth $500m a year – or rather, said the pipeline was only being tested. Once the war came and the pipeline was cut off, Syria’s oil exports suddenly dropped by 100,000-150,000 barrels a day. Continue reading “Old guard faces crisis as heat turns on Syria” →

Syria: A Culture of Fear and Stalemate

A brief excursion in cultural archaeology

Even a casual glimpse of the current developments between Israelis and Palestinians can easily lead to the detection of the ongoing “mobilization” efforts of the two peoples, with each set of leaders hoping to achieve greater popular support for its policies in the unfolding bloody confrontation. But when such “popular” mobilization efforts take place in the neighboring country of Syria, for instance, one is bound to wonder as to the reason and the cause.

Continue reading “Syria: A Culture of Fear and Stalemate” →

Syria 2000: a reform to end all reforms

This article was commissioned and published by Impressions, the inflight magazine distributed by British Airways.

What’s in store for Syria, now that Dr Bashar al-Asad is at the helm? What will it mean for the country’s economy, the banking sector and for potential outside investors? How will it open up in terms of information and the Internet? Ammar Abdulhamid examines the evidence. Continue reading “Syria 2000: a reform to end all reforms” →