Ammar Introduces President Bush!

On May 15, and as part of the program for launching the Freedom Collection in Washington, D.C., I was invited by the director of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, to introduce President Bush by way of highlighting the tragedy currently unfolding in Syria. This was my introduction:

Event Summary

In light of the ongoing crisis in Syria, three experts discussed the events on the ground there, U.S. policy options for the country, the role of Iran in the crisis, and what actions should be taken by the U.S. and international community. On May 9, the Middle East Program hosted a meeting on “What to Do About Syria?” with Ammar Abdulhamid, Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Steven Heydemann, Senior Advisor for Middle East Initiatives at the U.S. Institute of Peace; and Barbara Slavin, Washington Correspondent for Al-Monitor and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, moderated the event. Continue reading “What to Do About Syria?” →

Syrian Opposition Activists Ask Kosovo for Advice

Quoted by the Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo – A Syrian dissident said Thursday his country’s opposition is turning to Kosovo’s former rebels-turned-politicians for advice on how to topple Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus.

Ammar Abdulhamid, an exiled anti-Assad activist, said that seeing a new country “emerging out of the nightmare and emerging as a state” could be inspiring for Syrian dissidents. Continue reading “Syrian Opposition Activists Ask Kosovo for Advice” →

UN Mission in Syria Faces Criticism

Quoted by Matt Vasilogambros, National Journal

For some anti-Assad activists, those aren’t enough to successfully overturn the regime. Ammar Abdulhamid, a Damascus-born activist serving as a fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said he does not expect the U.N. mission to work because of Russia’s current support of the Assad regime. Continue reading “UN Mission in Syria Faces Criticism” →