Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post
This is part two in my new series following the complex developments in the Syrian uprising which I began just days ago. For previous coverage of this issue please scroll to the bottom of the article to find a reading list of previous material I have written.
Today the Washington Post reported that senior officials in the Obama administration have said that they are preparing to close the American embassy in Damascus and evacuate all personnel if President Bashar al-Assad cannot provide additional security. If Assad cannot give additional security to the U.S. embassy, they reportedly plan to close the facility by the end of January.
Officials said that the United States is not alone in pulling their diplomatic missions out of Syria, with other Western countries and Arab embassies making similar moves over the past week.
Currently they are still in talks with Assad’s government and have not reached a final decision.
Yet, they do say that there have been no visible results in terms of additional protection for the embassy.
This is hardly a surprise given that U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford previously met with leading figures in the opposition, a move which not only rightly enraged the Assad government but also the Syrian people who reacted in a violent manner.
“We have serious concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Damascus, including the recent spate of car bombs and about the safety and security of embassy personnel,” said a statement from the United States’ State Department.
“We have requested that the government of Syria take additional security measures to protect our embassy, and the Syrian government is considering that request. We have also advised the Syrian government that unless concrete steps are taken in the coming days we may have no choice but to close the mission,” the statement said.
The car bombs mentioned are part of no less than three unexplained car bomb attacks recently that killed up to 80 people in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which was previously relatively peaceful.
Emphasizing that these car bombings are unexplained is quite important, as there is a good chance those responsible very well might be the Western-backed opposition forces and their armed insurgent arm (arguably a terrorist organization) known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The FSA have bragged about attacking government targets in the past, so bombings in the capital very well might be an attempt to create chaos and further destabilize the Assad regime.
The process of removing personnel from the American embassy began last week, reportedly due to the bombings.
The Syrian government put the blame for the bombings on al Qaeda, while some activists predictably pointed the finger at the Syrian government itself, according to the Washington Post.
Of course, this would be completely illogical as car bombings in the nation’s capital only serve to further destabilize Assad’s power and erode his support.
A poll commissioned as part of the Doha Debates – thus sponsored by Qatar which has called for foreign military intervention in Syria – actually found that the majority of Syrians do not, in fact, want Assad to resign immediately.
The poll found that 81% of the Arabs questioned (over 1,000 which is far from a huge sample) wanted Assad to step down, but since these individuals are not Syrians, their opinion is completely irrelevant.
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