US pulls ambassador Robert Ford out of Syria

[chill_wind]

US pulls ambassador Robert Ford out of Syria over security concerns
Officials say Ford – who angered Syrian regime over his support for anti-Assad protesters – had been threatened with his life

Ewen MacAskill in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 October 2011 10.56 EDT

The US has withdrawn its ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, over fears for his safety after an intimidation campaign against him, American officials have said.

They said there had been credible threats against his life and accused the Syrian government of failing to protect him and of being behind a campaign of incitement.

Ford, who is back in Washington after leaving Damascus at the weekend, angered the Syrian government by aligning himself with anti-regime protesters.

Defying a travel ban on diplomats travelling outside Damascus, Ford made high-profile visits to locations at the centre of opposition to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and spoke to leaders of the protests.

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/24/us-withdraws-ambassador-syria-robert-ford

[ellisonz]

1. Rachel Maddow on US am-badass-ador Robert Ford

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwsxSGR2e24

[ellisonz]

2. Kick for the Syrian People - Who Today Lost an a Friend in their Struggle

:kick:

[pampango]

3. Juan Cole: Ambassador Ford’s Departure a Defeat for al-Assad

...the likelihood of Ford actually returning to his post any time soon, despite State Department assurances, is low. He has repeatedly been the object of ire among regime loyalists in Syria, and his abrupt return to Washington appears to be related to some sort of planned attack on him. Ford has vocally supported the right of Syrians to peaceable assembly and protest (he should have a word with the US police forces who have arrested or harassed so many of the “Occupy” protesters). Despite his being a thorn in the side of the Baathist regime, President Bashar al-Assad is making a huge error in allowing the situation to deteriorate so badly that Ford has had to leave.

Barack Obama came to office in 2009 determined to talk to all parties in the Middle East, including Iran and Syria. This policy of ‘jaw-jaw’ rather than ‘war-war’ (in Churchill’s phrase) contrasted with George W. Bush’s ‘cooties’ theory of diplomacy, wherein he never acknowledged that Syria and Iran existed except to condemn them, and declined to allow any US official to get near enough to them to actually speak to them. ... With regard to Syria, Obama restored diplomatic relations and sent an ambassador to Damascus. Syria had had an envoy to the US all along, Emad Moustafa, but no one in the capital seemed to talk to him and he was billed the loneliest man in Washington.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should realize that keeping Ford in Damascus and safe is his best option for keeping a line open to Obama. By allowing or perhaps fostering threats to the US ambassador, he has cut himself off from any dialogue with Washington. It is Sen. McCain’s warmongering that has filled that vacuum.

McCain is wrong that Western military intervention is plausible in Syria. There has been no Arab League resolution calling for it, and no UN Security Council resolution (action is being blocked by Russia and China). Most Syrian protesters themselves have opposed foreign intervention. There is no framework of international legality or legitimacy that would permit an outside intervention. Additionally, Syria’s geography is diverse and often rugged, and no attempt at intervention would be simple, tactically or logistically.

http://www.juancole.com/2011/10/ambassador-fords-departure-a-defeat-for-al-assad.html