Tag: United States

As Romney, Obama debate foreign policy, few see easy answers in Middle East

Quoted in KansasCity.com

The lack of a commitment to military intervention – such as a no-fly zone or airstrikes, but not foreign boots on Syrian soil – is maddening to pro-intervention Syrian opposition figures such as Ammar Abdulhamid, a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington research center.

While Abdulhamid said the Obama administration’s involvement in the Arab protests was “overall a positive one,” Syria is “a nightmare scenario” that was facilitated by government officials’ “lack of resolve, leadership and vision.” Syria, he and other activists say, could end up as a stain on the administration’s otherwise sensible response to the Arab uprisings.

“If they make it through this coming election, I just hope they have plans to give this tragedy the time and resources it requires to be brought to resolution in a manner commensurate with the aspirations of the pro-democracy activists who started this whole thing and were, in effect, betrayed,” Abdulhamid said.

Red Cross, Jackson Center To Host Law Conference In November

Post-Journal

The American Red Cross of Southwestern New York and the Robert H. Jackson Center will host a humanitarian law conference on Nov. 7 at the Robert H. Jackson Center, 305 E. Fourth St., Jamestown.

The conference introduce local teachers to the American Red Cross Exploring Humanitarian Law curriculum and help local educators learn the skills for teaching International Humanitarian Law in their classrooms.

The event will feature several key speakers, including a live conversation with Ammar Abdulhamid, a leading Syrian human rights and pro-democracy activist. The event will also feature two American Red Cross speakers: Winnie Romeril, an International Humanitarian Law instructor and Kathy Burch, an Exploring Humanitarian Law master educator and assistant director of the Southwestern NY Chapter.

Holding Civil Society Workshops While Syria Burns

Quoted in Foreign Policy

“In truth, we are not talking about major expenditures here,” said Ammar Abdulhamid, a prominent Syrian activist and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, cautioning that OSOS was too new to assess its effectiveness.

Rebels With a Cause, But Not Much Consensus

Syrian opposition fighters are committed to Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, but disagree on just about everything else.

BY AMMAR ABDULHAMID | OCTOBER 1, 2012

As President Bashar al-Assad’s forces disintegrate, the Syrian civil war is devolving into a battle between Sunni rebel groups and Alawite-dominated militias fighting in support of the old regime. This may increase the rebels’ chances of victory, but it also means that the work to rebuild Syria after Assad falls will be even more challenging. Continue reading “Rebels With a Cause, But Not Much Consensus” →