On July 18, The Institute of World Politics hosted Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian pro-democracy activist who currently lives in exile for his activities against the Syrian regime.
Mr. Abdulhamid shared with IWP interns his analysis of the conflict in Syria, providing detailed information about the main drivers of the conflict, what is fueling it and the geopolitical interests that are behind it.
He noted that the war in Syria is claiming about 5000 lives every month, and over 2 million people have become refugees in neighboring countries. He argued that the situation in Syria is far more complex than most people think. There are so many actors (both internal and external) that are playing a role in the conflict, and they all have different agendas, making it much more difficult to determine a possible end to the war.
The opposition is extremely divided, Mr. Abdulhamid said, and the Obama administration’s talks with the Free Syrian Army have been sporadic and inconsistent. Mr. Abdulhamid also explained some of the geopolitical interests that Iran and Russia have in Syria and how those interests are shaping the conflict.
Finally, Mr. Abdulhamid made it clear that he supports a stronger commitment by the US government to aid the moderate forces fighting the Assad regime, arguing that inaction is as disastrous as wrong action.
Alberto Espinosa
-IWP Intern