Syrian Uprising Shifts Toward Suicide Bombings. Al Qaeda’s Handiwork?

Quoted by Nicholas Blanford, The Christian Science Monitor

“The only Al Qaeda cells that operate in Syria are those manipulated by Assad’s security apparatuses,” said Ammar Abdulhamid, a US-based Syrian opposition activist in an online newsletter emailed today. “The suicide bombings are directly staged or facilitated by them. Issues pertaining to the timing and the real beneficiaries, and everything we know about the Assads’ involvement in terror networks, all point in this direction.”

Mr. Abdulhamid’s post carried a YouTube link that quotes Walid Muallem, Syria’s foreign minister, telling a news conference in Damascus in December that suicide bombings would not be an “embarrassment” for the government but would bestow “credibility” upon its claim that it is under threat from Islamist militants.

Democracy, Authoritarianism and Course Corrections

(In response to comments on US and western involvement in our regional conflicts)

Abuse of power is common to all who have it. But democratic countries like the US allow for self-criticism and self-reflection and therefore, for the possibility of course correction.

In our struggle to bring democracy to our part of the world, where authoritarianism makes course-correction on a variety of issues well-nigh impossible, it will be positive to lobby for support from established democracies. Failure to lobby in this regard will leave the stage to be occupied by pundits with little knowledge, understanding and appreciation of shifting realities in the region, and other lobbies which represent the interests of ruling regimes and all varieties of parties who are not interested in democracy to begin with. Continue reading “Democracy, Authoritarianism and Course Corrections” →

THE STATE OF SYRIA UNDER THE ASSADS & PROSPECTS FOR CHANGE

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” →

Another line drawn in our crimson sands

The arrest of Riad Seif, the recently leader of Syria’s largest opposition coalition, earlier today by security officers, in face of continued international protestations against the regime’s worsening human rights record, and despite continuing efforts at engagements and continued promises of normalization, support for the peace process, and even an indirect acknowledgment of the regime’s interests in Lebanon, comes as a clear sign that the Assads, once engaged and afforded any sense of legitimacy, tend to misbehave even more not less. The continued bombings and the recent riots in Lebanon are clear testaments in this regard as well. And the worst is yet to come. Continue reading “Another line drawn in our crimson sands” →