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Ford Withdrawn From Syria

By Aaron Goldstein on 10.24.11 @ 11:44AM

Over the weekend, the Obama Administration temporarily pulled its Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, from Damascus amidst reports that his life was in danger. Ford has now returned to the U.S.

Back in July, I argued that Ford should have been withdrawn but John Tabin made the case that Ford had value remaining in Damascus. I appreciated his point and said that if Ford was to Assad what James McGee was to Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe then it be worthwhile keeping him there.

Well, I must say that Ford has turned out to be quite courageous in meeting with opposition figures in Syria. Late last month, Assad supporters threw eggs and tomatoes at Ford when he met with Abdul Azim of Syria's outlawed Arab Socialist Democratic Union Party.

The only question that remains is if the withdrawal of Ford is truly temporary or if it represents a shift back towards a more accommodating posture towards Syria as Haynes Mahoney, Ford's deputy, will remain in Damascus to assume his duties. As Tabin succinctly put it, "If there must be an American Ambassador in Syria, let's make Assad wish there wasn't."

View all comments (10) | Leave a comment

JimH| 10.24.11 @ 12:30PM

A Ford recalled? Sorry, I couldn't resist.

PattyMor| 10.24.11 @ 12:42PM

And just why did we reward Syria with an ambassador in the first place? That Hillary called
Assad a "reformer" is embarassing.

Occam's Tool| 10.24.11 @ 1:54PM

Nothing wrong with Syria that a (fill in the blank) wouldn't cure.

Of course, that's true of every Arab state in the Middle East. (Oooh, watch Jack pull the "racist" card.)

Clint| 10.24.11 @ 3:11PM

..... A Bowl Of Matzo Ball Soup Wouldn't Cure ?

Martin Owens| 10.24.11 @ 6:54PM

I'd be a shade careful here- we thought diplomatic status would protect the folks in Iran, too, remember?

By "being careful" I mean have a couple of stalwart boys grab a Syrian diplomat and have him relay a message: nice for nice, nasty for nasty.

Quartermaster| 10.24.11 @ 7:20PM

I have problems with an Ambassador playing around in the politics of the country he assigned. The person of an Ambassador is supposed to be sacred, but he is accredited to the government of the country and running around meeting with people the regime sees as enemies is not a good practice. Assad's regime would have been within their rights to declare him persona non grata and be done with it, than to wait until he was withdrawn voluntarily.

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yisong| 10.24.11 @ 9:57PM

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yisong| 10.24.11 @ 9:57PM

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yisong| 10.24.11 @ 9:59PM

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