Robert "can't believe they're not terrorists!" Ford
The former ambassador Ford allegedly had a hand in last week's "dissident" letter by some State Department employees. The letter urges launching an open U.S. war against Syria and its government. Ford was recently interviewed about the letter for an exculpatory piece in the New Yorker.
Comment: Ford just wrote an equally slimey piece for The Daily Beast: U.S. Diplomats Are Right on Syria.
In the New Yorker interview Ford asserted:
We all learned from Iraq that regime change is not the way to bring about positive political change. In the case of civil war, there needs to be negotiation between the opposition and the government. The question is how you increase the likelihood that it will succeed. And ever since Secretary Clinton and Sergei Lavrov concluded the communiqué, in June, 2012, Administration policy has failed to create the conditions necessary to succeed.Quoting the above S. Rifai responded to former ambassador Ford's assertions (emphasis added):
S. Rifai @THE_47th 5:02 AM - 19 Jun 2016Ford did not immediately respond but S. Rifai insisted:
That's not what u told us in mtngs in Damascus Amb @fordrs58 ..that's not the msg u conveyed
Amb Ford @fordrs58 you hv had more freedom in Damascus in 2011 than most political oppo.. & throughout ur meetings, the above msg was diff
You actually had the courage Amb @fordrs58 2 sit with regime officials who seemed ready 2 defect...and ur msg certainly wasn't "negotiation"
Your mtgs in Abu Remmaneh, Malki, and in known dissidents houses Mr. @fordrs58, remember those? remember the promises?
I can get more specific about these mtgs Mr. @fordrs58, but it is not in your interest nor mine
These details are like farts in the wind Mr. Amb @fordrs58..what counts is the "Assad must go" part that u & ur president said repeatedly.
S. Rifai @THE_47th 5:14 AM - 19 Jun 2016Another "revolutionary" joins:
@fordrs58 so pls clarify: u knew all along tht Obama wanted "nego w gov" bt u&him kept telling us "Assad will go"?
Abdul @al_7aleem 5:36 AM - 19 Jun 2016
.@THE_47th @fordrs58 Isn't it our fault for forgetting the last 90 years of US history in all our excitement...
S. Rifai @THE_47th 5:38 AM - 19 Jun 2016Later on Ford responded:
We didn't forget as much as we hoped for change.. It's not like we had another power-player we could rely on
Robert Ford @fordrs58 10:34 AM - 19 Jun 2016(Ford's tweet implies that, despite his claimed urging, the protests did not stay peaceful. He admits that the protesters, not the government, were violent.)
you should remember that we (US Emb & others) urged a dialogue with the Syr govt and that protests stay peaceful
Rifai counters:
S. Rifai @THE_47th 11:36 PM - 19 Jun 2016Later:
Expectation vs. Reality
Ur trip to Hama was about dialogue? Ur Malki Mtgs were about peace? Are u insulting my intelligence?
.@fordrs58 when you knew Manaf Tlass or the Prime Minister was about to defect, did you urge them to dialogue instead?
.@fordrs58 where is "dialogue" in Obama's "Assad must step aside"? Assad must go, Obama says
.@fordrs58 when farouk Al Sharaa invited oppo to meeting in 2011 you advised Nabil Maleh, Michel Kilo, Fayez Sara NOT to dialogue.
.@fordrs58 do you want the Bulgarian Amb to refresh ur memory? How about B.R? Or M.T? All were there when u advised oppo NOT to dialogue.
.@fordrs58 u were giving us lectures on how imp it was to tour the EU and lobby for our cause, and to capitalize on EU cutting ties w Assad
Robert Ford @fordrs58 7:33 AM - 20 Jun 2016To recap. Ford now asserts that he and Obama did not want immediate violent "regime change" in Syria. That they wanted to have a dialogue and negotiate with the Assad government.
@THE_47th pls get ur facts str8. never even met Fayez in 2011. We urged Sharaa dialogue expand to include people like Michel & Haithem M.
S. Rifai @THE_47th 8:10 AM - 20 Jun 2016
.@fordrs58 fine. I'll get them to say what you told them. On another note: why did you provide "non-lethal" aid to rebels?
.@fordrs58 and when you went to the Syrian border with Turkey to meet rebels, were you also urging them to dialogue?
Rifai, who was there from the very beginning, says that those are lies. In his talks with the opposition Ford argued against any negotiations. His talks were not about peace or dialogue. They were for blatant, violent "regime change".
The "revolutionary" dupes fell for it.
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Addendum:
Ford peddles at least one other big lie in the New Yorker interview. He says:
[Back in 2012, we in the State Department ...] didn't anticipate that the Al Qaeda organization would split and produce an even more virulent form—that a more extreme form would come to control the eastern portion of Syria going into Iraq.In mid 2012 the Defense Intelligence Agency circulated a high level assessment of the situation in Syria that said the opposite. The Obama administration did anticipate the Islamic State. According to (vid, 8:50) then DIA boss Gen. Flynn, it was a "willfully decision" by the Obama administration to do nothing to prevent it.
THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A DECLARED OR UNDECLARED SALAFIST PRINCIPALITY IN EASTERN SYRIA (HASAKA AND DER ZOR), AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SUPPORTING POWERS TO THE OPPOSITION WANT, [...]Ford did know what was going to come. He is lying.
ISI COULD ALSO DECLARE AN ISLAMIC STATE THROUGH ITS UNION WITH OTHER TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS IN IRAQ AND SYRIA, WHICH WILL CREATE GRAVE DANGER IN REGARDS TO UNIFYING IRAQ AND THE PROTECTION OF ITS TERRITORY.
Comment: This is hilarious! First the U.S. (via Ford) meets with Syrian 'rebels', gets them all riled up and ready to start a violent insurrection in Syria, with no negotiations. Now that the U.S. has been forced to back down on their murderous plans for Syria, their proxies are getting pissed. It seems the U.S. hasn't learned that you can't trust mercenaries, especially when you turn on them. As usual, the U.S. has no one to blame but themselves.