US Envoy: Syria Can’t Reform

Insists This 'Isn't About Western Military Intervention'

In a letter posted, oddly enough, on Facebook, US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford angrily condemned the Assad government and insisted no reforms were possible, saying that there was no way the international community would believe that the reforms were credible even if attempted.

Ford’s message was largely in the context of broad-based condemnations and insisting that the Syrian government was lying about the excuse of “armed terrorists” being behind the protests a claim their state media repeatedly makes.

At the same time, Ford insisted, the comment “isn’t about Western military intervention” and “isn’t about oil.” He didn’t offer any solutions, however, and just insisted that the US “supports” the protesters.

Supports them in theory, but in practice the letter’s theme is that the Assad government can gain nothing by ending their violence against the pro-democracy rallies, and that even legitimate reforms will be dismissed by the US as meaningless.

As with other past comments the Ford statement appears to bolster the very status quo it claims is unacceptable. To that end the violence continues in Syria with attacks on refugees attempting to flee to neighboring Turkey.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.