In Washington, activists who have lobbied for US support said the latest promises fell well short of the action needed to topple Assad and ensure moderate rebel groups won the day. Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian dissident, said: “Bulletproof vests and night vision goggles will help you become a more effective fighter, but they will not protect you from MiGs, tanks and Scuds, or enable you to destroy them.”
Tag: Syrian Opposition
New On The Freedom Collection: Ammar Abdulhamid Updates
February 25, 2013 | Bush Center
Syrian dissident Ammar Abdulhamid’s Freedom Collection interview provides a compelling look inside his troubled homeland. We were very fortunate to interview him for a second time and learn about more recent developments in his country. We are now pleased to post a recently recorded second set of interviews with Ammar, to hear his perspectives on Syria’s bloody civil war, steps that must be taken to end the violence, and building a sustainable democracy. Continue reading “New On The Freedom Collection: Ammar Abdulhamid Updates”
Syria conflict: Backing for Khatib
Khatib’s call for conditional dialogue with the Syrian government has been backed by unlikely the source – Ammar Abdulhamid a usually hawkish Syrian dissident and blogger.
Abdulhamid, fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which is regarded as a NeoCon thinktank, said an armed struggle should continue alongside Khatib’s call for talks.
In his latest blogpost Abdulhamid noted the popularity of Khatib and his proposal among ordinary Syrians. Continue reading “Syria conflict: Backing for Khatib”
Finitiatives
Ammar Abulhamid writes:
Not too long ago, Assad issued a “Finitiative,” that is, an initiative to end all initiatives, calling, allegedly, for dialogue with the opposition. Now, opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib has repaid Assad in kind by issuing his own “Finitiative” calling, purportedly, for dialogue with the regime. Both finitiatives were clearly designed for purposes other than those declared and were meant primarily as acts of continued defiance, even if some failed to detect the defiance involved in Alkhatib’s finitiative
….Assad’s finitiative was meant to rally troops and consolidate support and control rather than enter into any real dialogue with the opposition, Alkhatib’s came as a revolutionary act meant to break a political stalemate in the ranks of the international community and to push for a real policy to help resolve the situation in Syria in a way commensurate with the expectation of the majority of average Syrians from all communal and political backgrounds. Assad’s finitiative was, then, a defensive act, a last stand of sorts. But Alkhatib’s finitiative marked the opposition’s first real offensive on the political front. Continue reading “Finitiatives”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 