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” →

Repression or reform?

“Deadly protests may force Syria’s Assad to choose,” says the Christian Science Monitor, with a quote from me among others:

“After Friday and Saturday we can now say that what the Assad regime is facing is a grass-roots uprising for democracy,” says Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian democracy activist based in the United States. “Momentum has spread.”

Syrians have broken the fear barrier

February’s ‘day of anger’ fizzled out, but protests in Deraa show Syria’s revolutionary spirit is now gathering pace.

Ammar Abdulhamid, guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 March 2011 11.36 GMT

What a difference six weeks make. Back in early February I was asked whether Syria would be next on the growing list of countries to witness a popular revolution. My answer, which came in the form of an article published on Comment is free, was, in essence, “not yet”. Continue reading “Syrians have broken the fear barrier” →

Time for Revolution, and Planning

Yeah, this is the time for revolutions and change: the peaceful variety. This is both exciting and exhausting. And since I am an advocate of patience and careful planning, and of leaving things in the hands of grassroots activists on the ground to guide us and decide on the right time for the move, I have to put up with all different sorts of accusations coming from my more hotheaded colleagues, those who champion revolutionary rhetoric but think that revolutionary action is nothing more than spontaneous social combustion instigated by repeated shouts of Allahu Akbar and Down With the Regime.