Notably and sensibly lacking a byline
this globalpost piece is the closest to real coverage of the Syrian situation from inside the country I have seen so far.
The Arab revolutions: an end to dogma
An opinion piece, which is sub-titled:
Quote:
The popular uprisings in the Arab world are a great disaster for a radical camp led by Syria-Iran and long indulged by media such as al-Jazeera. A great opportunity follows..
Particularly interesting the comments on Al-Jazeera.
Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/hazem-s...s-end-to-dogma
Whose revolution is it anyway?
Some insight from a British journalist and former politician, Matthew Parris, best known as a parliamentary and social sketch writer; which opens with:
Quote:
..my own bent has been to ask if revolts in North Africa and now Syria are really just cries of despair from an increasingly educated and in-touch generation of (mostly) young and (often) unemployed Arab men, at the failure of their prospects to keep pace with their hopes — it being easiest to blame the despotism or dysfunction of their governments for what is at root economic failure.
Quote:
..they feel humiliated for their countrymen and country, in the face of a police state so unlikeable that even its beneficiaries (he says) cannot like it.
He adds that to Arabs he knows, the sight of Arab blood being spilt at the hands of other Arabs is very shameful; and victimhood, even by proxy, has helped fuel indignation. There is also (he says) something ‘attractive’ (his word) to some of his students in the picture of young Arab men standing up to authority and force: heroism alone, almost regardless of cause...
Yes, based on one persons's first-hand knowledge of one group of youths in Syria.
Link:http://www.spectator.co.uk/columnist...t-anyway.thtml
IISS comment on Syria: Making sense of Syria
An IISS Strategic Comment, which ends with:
Quote:
Meanwhile, the protest movement continues to gain momentum inside Syria, with nothing but the president's departure now likely to satisfy the opposition. With dissent within his country now too widespread for Assad to ignore, some analysts are hoping Syria's fast-degenerating economy will also prove a fatal weakness. In this context, the fact that protests have finally reached the country's second city and commercial hub, Aleppo, may be particularly significant. And how things now play out in Syria depends on whether Assad and his officials meeting growing dissent with ever-repressive force – or blink.
Link:http://www.iiss.org/publications/str...ense-of-syria/
Following one link I found 'Syria Comment' a blogsite for a US academic on Syria:http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/
US public diplomacy in Syria
Quote:
Perhaps the most important development, however, was in Syria. In Damascus, we saw large protests in the center of the city, and security fired on the crowds, a sure sign that even the capital is starting to turn against the regime, slowly but steadily.
(My emphasis) In Hama, US Ambassador Robert Ford was described by the Syrian Interior Minister as meeting "with saboteurs in Hama ... who erected checkpoints, cut traffic and prevented citizens from going to work." However, he got a hero's welcome, and nearly 500,000 people peacefully took to the streets with few incidents of security cracking down on the city.
Taken from:http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/...st-friday.html
Alas no sourcs cited and a search found several sources.
Al-Jazeera has a very short report:http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/...ul-8-2011-2238
There is a NYT report with some more detail:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/wo...t/09syria.html
A DoS spokesperson added:
Quote:
Ms. Nuland confirmed that Mr. Ford drove through the city center on Friday but decided not to stay so as “not to become the story himself” and left before the protests got under way.
Quote:
Blake Hounshell, the managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, observed: The more I think about it, the more extraordinary Ford’s visit to Hama is. When was the last time a U.S. ambassador did something so bold?
Link, with YouTube clip:http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/201...an-protesters/
Note the French Ambassador was there too, apparently not a coordinated visit.
Clinton defends U.S. response to crackdown in Syria
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...0JJ_story.html
Quote:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her department’s incremental response to the slayings of protesters in Syria, arguing that demands for the ouster of Syria’s president would accomplish little without the support of key allies in the region.
Agree, and it reinforces a point I made previously that when we pursue isolationist trade policies it does more harm to us than to the country we're trying to influence. We lose both business opportunities and leverage. Furthermore, the fact is that our businesses can more have more influence on the nation than any Embassy and assorted diplomats, because our businesses will have a direct impact on their lives. We missed an opportunity to engage in business in Cuba years ago, and are still slow rolling business efforts to appease a small group of angry Cubans exiles in Florida.
Quote:
Clinton also sought to portray the Obama administration’s policies in Syria and Libya as examples of “smart power,” an approach that she said emphasizes collective action and international consensus over unilateral solutions that rely disproportionately on U.S. troops and treasure.
Maybe I'm a hopeless iconoclast, but I had to laugh at this one. Now we know that smart power is the hopelessness associated with multinational consensus. Another way to pretend to take action, while developing a vanguard of a thousand excuses on why you can't. :rolleyes: