Syria: “The Violence Is Not Equal”
Posted by Robert S. Ford / February 11, 2012
![Satellite imagery of Syrian military movements, February 10, 2012. [Copyright Digital Globe]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0211_syria_m.jpg)
Editor's Note: This entry appeared first on the U.S. Embassy Syria Facebook page. You can find additional satellite imagery of Syrian military movements here.
The violence is not equal.
Yesterday I put out a note about the situation in Syria as I've witnessed it from the ground and since leaving the country. A terrible and tragic development in Syria is the use of heavy weaponry by the Assad regime against residential neighborhoods.… more »
Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth in North Africa
Posted by Jose W. Fernandez / February 11, 2012
Just as my Department of State colleagues witnessed the entrepreneurial spirit of the Arab Spring with Jordanian entrepreneurs in Washington, D.C., I experienced that same spirit energizing the halls of the Ryad Mogador Agdal in Marrakech, Morocco.
I recently participated in the second U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference, initially launched one year ago in Algiers just weeks before the uprisings in Tunisia that sparked the Arab Spring. The conference was the annual partnership meeting of the more »
A Note on Recent Events in Syria
Posted by Robert S. Ford / February 10, 2012
![Satellite image taken of Syria on February 6, 2012. [Copyright Digital Globe]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0210_syria_homs_m.jpg)
Editor's Note: This entry appeared first on the U.S. Embassy Syria Facebook page. You can find additional satellite imagery of Syrian military movements here.
First, like people around the world, my colleagues and friends are watching the video coming out of Homs and some of the other Syrian cities in the last days with horror and revulsion. I hear the devastating stories about newborns in Homs dying in hospitals where electricity has been cut and when we see disturbing photos offering proof that the regime is using mortars and artillery against residential neighborhoods,… more »
U.S. Suspends Embassy Operations in Syria
Posted by DipNote Bloggers / February 06, 2012
![The U.S. Embassy building is seen in Damascus, Syria on January 12, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0206_embassy_syria_m.jpg)
The United States advised the government of Syria that it has suspended all embassy operations effective February 6, 2012, given ongoing violence and a deteriorating security situation. All official U.S. embassy personnel and their family members have departed. In a statement, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said:
"We, along with several other diplomatic missions, conveyed our security concerns to the Syrian government but the regime failed to respond adequately. Ambassador Ford has left Damascus but he remains the United States Ambassador to Syria and its people. As the President's representative, he will continue his work and engagement with the Syrian people as head of our Syria team in Washington. Together with other senior U.S. officials, Ambassador Ford will maintain… more »
Egypt’s Transition to Democracy
Posted by DipNote Bloggers / January 25, 2012
![Egypt's newly-elected parliament as seen during the first session after the revolution that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 23, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0125_egypt_transition_m.jpg)
On January 24, 2012, the White House Press Secretary issued the following statement:
"This week, Egypt achieved several historic milestones in its transition to democracy. Yesterday, democratically-elected representatives of the People's Assembly met for the first time since Egypt's revolution, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces transferred legislative authority to them. Today, Field Marshal Tantawi took steps to lift the state of emergency that has existed in Egypt for several decades. And tomorrow, Egyptians will commemorate the anniversary of the revolution that made Egypt's transition to democracy possible.
"We congratulate the Egyptian people and their government on these important steps… more »
The Entrepreneurial Spirit of the Arab Spring
Posted by Rob Lalka and Thomas Debass / January 18, 2012
![Attendees of the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship listen as President Barack Obama speaks, April 26, 2010, in Washington. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0118_young_entrepeneurs_m.jpg)
In the midst of the political and economic revolutions and evolutions of the Arab Spring, there is a theme emerging. It isn't as popular to talk about as the power of social media for mobilization, and it hasn't received the same media coverage as the crowds in city squares across the Middle East and North Africa, but it's a vital part of what is happening in our world.
As venture capitalist Craig Hanson so aptly stated in the San Jose Mercury News, "Entrepreneurship is the next phase of the Arab Spring."
We talked about Craig's message a great deal yesterday when we hosted the 25 entrepreneurs from Jordan who accompanied His Majesty King Abdullah II on his visit to meet with President Obama this week. At a luncheon here at the State Department, we connected these… more »
Embracing the New Year’s Opportunities for Change
Posted by Jeffrey Feltman / January 12, 2012
![Children play in a narrow alley in Tunis, Tunisia, March 14, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0112_children_tunisia_m.jpg)
When I served as Political-Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia in the late 1990s, noisy and crowded diplomatic events -- dinners, receptions, national day parties -- were the best place to meet with Tunisians who assumed that President Ben Ali's mukhabarat had bugged all offices. They believed the safety of the noise and crowds at diplomatic events protected candid conversations. But sometimes, even diplomatic receptions didn't work out as planned: one night, my wife and I hosted a reception at our residence in Gammarth, where a large number of human rights and civil society activists showed up, probably to the horror of the few Tunisian government officials who dared attend. At the end of the reception, the mukhabarat arrested a number of guests whom we had gathered in one location, inadvertently facilitating a crackdown.
Foreign diplomats cynically nicknamed… more »
Egypt: Reaffirming Respect for All at Coptic Christmas
Posted by Jeffrey Feltman / January 08, 2012
![In this Friday, Jan. 6, 2012 photo, Egyptians attend Christmas Eve mass at a Coptic church in Qena, Egypt. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0106_egypt_coptic_christmas_m.jpg)
Over the course of my career as a United States diplomat, I've spent many a Christmas holiday in countries across the Middle East. From Beirut to Tunis, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Baha'is, and peoples of all religions, celebrate and acknowledge the importance of faith, a hope for the future, and goodwill toward all. Yet, something I saw a few days ago in Cairo reminded me of another important tenant of the season: tolerance.
I had the privilege of joining our Ambassador Anne Patterson in attending two Christmas services on January 6. First, we went to a moving celebration at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church near Tahrir Square. Then, in the evening, we attended a Coptic Christmas ceremony at Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.
In both churches, there were celebrations of the joy of the season alongside somber moments of remembrance for those who lost… more »
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