Free Republic

Many observers have asserted that the withdrawal gives victory in Syria to Russia, Iran and the Syrian government. That’s absurd. Bashar al-Assad’s regime already controls about two-thirds of Syria, including all of the major cities. The portion of Syria that U.S. forces control alongside their Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) allies is mostly either desert or drought-prone plains. The oil fields there produce high-sulfur, low-value crude, and production has long been diminishing. Oil revenue made up only about 5 percent of Syrian gross domestic product before the 2011 uprising, according to the International Monetary Fund. In sum, holding northeastern Syria would...

Al-Arabiya is reporting that Syrian President Bashar Assad's mother has defected. She joined her daughter Bushra in the UAE, who had left the country last fall. President Bashar al-Assad's mother Anisa Makhlouf and other members of his inner circle have fled to the United Arab Emirates as the regime of the embattled president appeared to disintegrate, recent reports confirmed. Anisa has joined her daughter, Bushra, who had previously fled to Dubai, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat quoted Robert Ford, U.S. ambassador to Syria until the break of the relations between the two countries. Anisa, the widow of late president Hafez...

US Ambassador Robert Ford resigned from his State Department post a month ago, after a long and difficult time as the envoy to Syria. Ford showed great personal courage in his service while Bashar al-Assad instigated attacks on Western embassies and eventually provoked a massive civil war which has turned into a regional threat, thanks to the collapse of his power in large regions of Syria. The collapse of American policy in Syria over the past year was presumed to have prompted Ford’s departure, which he confirms with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview today.This is interesting for more...

The Obama administration’s outreach to the Islamic Front in Syria earlier this month failed due to a flawed plan and unrealistic goals, insiders say—and now American influence on the ground with the armed Syrian opposition is at a new low. In a Principals Committee-level meeting at the White House in early December, top officials from several national security agencies convened to decide on the next steps in the Obama administration’s Syria policy. The leadership of the Free Syrian Army, the moderate Western-backed rebels, had been chased from their headquarters in Northern Syria, leaving U.S. non-lethal aid in the hands of...

A little over two years ago, on July 8 2011, a convoy carrying the then US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford made its way through army checkpoints to the besieged city of Hama, then the center of protests against the rule of the Assad regime. The surprise visit was seen as the first concrete sign of US support for the Syrian opposition. … But these days, the veteran US diplomat is being showered with invective and diatribe—on Twitter. The latest social media campaign against Ford was sparked by media reports over the weekend that US Secretary of State John Kerry...

State Sen. Robert Ford, one of the Lowcountry’s most established and colorful political figures, stepped down today as the Senate Ethics Committee was finishing up its review into his campaign spending. The Charleston Democrat began his political career as an outspoken black leader who butted heads with Mayor Joe Riley and others in Charleston’s political establishment but evolved into a leader who touted his close ties with influential Republican Senate colleagues. His resignation came as the Senate Ethics Committee began discussing the final four of eight allegations today. Its findings are expected to be posted online soon, Sen. John Courson...

US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford yesterday sneaked into northern Syria to meet with Syrian opposition leaders. A US official confirmed the visit and said that the meeting took place along the Turkey-Syria border and that the Ambassador did not go deep into Syria. As the official said: ““(The meeting) was literally just across the border.” However, he refused to provide additional details for security reasons. “Obviously, this is a dangerous area so we don’t want to get into the movement of diplomatic personnel,” he said. A Syrian activist reportedly said Ford met with a rebel leader from Aleppo who...

A leading Syrian opposition figure says supporters of President Bashar Assad pelted the U.S. ambassador with tomatoes as he entered an office for a meeting and then tried to storm the office.

U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford confirmed to The Cable widely held suspicions that the Syrian government is arresting and torturing Syrians whose family members have spoken out against the regime here in the United States. The FBI is investigating claims that the Syrian embassy staff in Washington has been collecting information on Syrian-Americans in and around Washington, especially those who dare to protest against the regime. That embassy is led by Ambassador Imad Moustapha, who has updated his blog only intermittently since the outbreak of violence in Syria. Ford did not directly accuse Moustapha of spying on American citizens...

The American Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford called Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad evil in an extensive interview with The Daily Caller Wednesday from his mission in the Middle Eastern country. “Yes, actually I do because what’s happening under his authority in terms of people being tortured to death, people being shot who are unarmed and no one being held accountable for it,” Ford responded following a pause after being asked by TheDC if he thought Assad was “evil.”

Pro-regime thugs in Syria harassed and set upon the U.S. ambassador just over a week ago. The event was not publicly reported in Washington until Tuesday, when a journalist discovered a propaganda video exploiting the attack. The episode reveals an American diplomat with more fortitude and canny than his boss in the White House. U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford has distinguished himself by symbolically standing with the brutalized people of Syria as they seek freedom from the dictator Assad. Ford has done so through a radical and seldom-used diplomatic technique in the annals of the U.S. Foreign Service: showing up and...

BEIRUT, July 8 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people rallied in the Syrian city of Hama on Friday, calling for the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad, as Western envoys visited the city to show support for protesters. -Excerpt- Footage on the Internet showed a huge crowd in Hama's Orontes Square, some carrying a Syrian flag tens of meters long and chanting "The people want the downfall of the regime." In a symbolic show of solidarity, U.S. ambassador Robert Ford and French ambassador Eric Chevallier visited Hama to put pressure on Assad not to crush the protest.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took a major step toward improving strained ties with Syria on Tuesday, announcing his intention to reappoint a U.S. ambassador to Damascus after a five-year absence. The White House said Obama had nominated career diplomat Robert Ford to the post. The nomination must still be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The United States withdrew its ambassador from Damascus in 2005 after the assassination in Beirut of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Syria's foes in Lebanon accused Damascus of involvement, a charge Syria denied.

There's a new mortal sin in American politics: criticizing Hillary Clinton. Nobody's allowed to do it. Certainly none of her opponents. If they dare to, Hillary sends in one of her boys, who practically accuses them of being un-American. In January, without ever mentioning Hillary's name and before she was even a candidate, John Edwards dared to express the view that silence on the Iraq War was "betrayal." Ignoring the substance of Edwards' speech, Clinton gun slinger Howard Wolfson immediately shot from the hip, attacking him for waging a negative campaign: "In 2004, John Edwards used to constantly brag about...