Syrian regime is betting on a friendlier Obama
It is tempting to think that an Obama administration would be more open towards Arab’s grievances. Yet autocratic and authoritarian governments in the region, the likes of Syria, are betting on it. At a special panel discussion at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C this past week, the “engage Syria” crowds were out in force in the capital warning of the danger of the continuation of the past eight years of Bush’s foreign policy towards Syria. The guest speakers, former U.S Ambassador to Syria Edward P. Djerejian and Author Aaron David Miller, highlighted the ills of the policy of isolation vs. engagement with enemies of the United States. Most notables among the attendee’s was the infamous Syrian regime’s Ambassador Imad Mustafa and small group of his embassy staff, most likely members of the (Mukhabarat) secret service. Ambassador Djerejian was promoting his new book titled “Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador’s Journey Though the Middle East” whic...