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| U.S. pulls its envoy from Syria |
(Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had pulled its ambassador out of Damascus because of threats to his safety in Syria, where protesters are trying to end 41 years of authoritarian rule by the Assad family.
Ambassador Robert Ford had angered the Syrian government by cultivating contacts with the 7-month-old grass-roots movement against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, leading to attacks on his embassy and residence, diplomats said.
The Western diplomats told Reuters Ford left Syria over the weekend following a series of incidents that caused physical damage to U.S. property but no casualties.
"Ambassador Robert Ford was brought back to Washington as a result of credible threats against his personal safety in Syria," said U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner.
"At this point, we can't say when he will return to Syria. It will depend on our assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground."
U.S. officials said they want Ford to return to Damascus and made clear they had no current intention of expelling the Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, a step that would almost certainly preclude the U.S. envoy's return.
One U.S. official said that the Assad government appeared to be trying to deflect attention from its effort to crush anti-government attention by incitement against Ford, who has been unusually forward in challenging the authorities.
"They are trying to get their street to turn against him rather than focusing on the fact that their street has turned against them," said one U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
This official stressed that Ford had not been "withdrawn" from Syria -- an act that would have implied that the United States had no intention of sending him back to Damascus.
The United Nations says the government crackdown has killed 3,000 people, including 187 children, in Syria. Syrian authorities blame the unrest on "armed terrorist groups," which they say have killed 1,100 army and police.
SYRIAN INCITEMENT AGAINST FORD?
"Articles, more inciting against Ford than usual, have appeared in state media recently. He left Saturday," said one diplomats, who like others asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Ford, a veteran diplomat, infuriated Syria's rulers by getting in touch with protesters demanding an end to 41 years of Assad family rule.
They cheered Ford when he went in July to the anti-Assad hotbed city of Hama, which was later stormed by tanks. Ford also visited a town that had witnessed regular protests in the southern province of Deraa, ignoring a new ban on Western diplomats traveling outside the Damascus area.
Along with a group of mostly Western ambassadors, Ford also paid condolences to the family of Ghayath Matar, a 25-year-old protest leader who had distributed flowers to give to soldiers but was arrested and died of apparent torture, activists say.
Washington, seeking to convince Assad to scale back an alliance with U.S. nemesis Iran and backing for militant groups, sought to improve relations with Damascus after U.S. President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
Obama sent Ford to Damascus in January to fill a diplomatic vacuum prevailing since Washington withdrew its ambassador in 2005 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
But relations deteriorated anew after the uprising broke out and Assad ignored international calls to address protester demands that he dismantle the Syrian police state and allow political pluralism.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Ford said Assad was losing support among key constituents and risked plunging Syria into sectarian strife by intensifying a military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
Time was running against Assad, he said at the time.
Ambassador Robert Ford had angered the Syrian government by cultivating contacts with the 7-month-old grass-roots movement against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, leading to attacks on his embassy and residence, diplomats said.
The Western diplomats told Reuters Ford left Syria over the weekend following a series of incidents that caused physical damage to U.S. property but no casualties.
"Ambassador Robert Ford was brought back to Washington as a result of credible threats against his personal safety in Syria," said U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner.
"At this point, we can't say when he will return to Syria. It will depend on our assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground."
U.S. officials said they want Ford to return to Damascus and made clear they had no current intention of expelling the Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, a step that would almost certainly preclude the U.S. envoy's return.
One U.S. official said that the Assad government appeared to be trying to deflect attention from its effort to crush anti-government attention by incitement against Ford, who has been unusually forward in challenging the authorities.
"They are trying to get their street to turn against him rather than focusing on the fact that their street has turned against them," said one U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
This official stressed that Ford had not been "withdrawn" from Syria -- an act that would have implied that the United States had no intention of sending him back to Damascus.
The United Nations says the government crackdown has killed 3,000 people, including 187 children, in Syria. Syrian authorities blame the unrest on "armed terrorist groups," which they say have killed 1,100 army and police.
SYRIAN INCITEMENT AGAINST FORD?
"Articles, more inciting against Ford than usual, have appeared in state media recently. He left Saturday," said one diplomats, who like others asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Ford, a veteran diplomat, infuriated Syria's rulers by getting in touch with protesters demanding an end to 41 years of Assad family rule.
They cheered Ford when he went in July to the anti-Assad hotbed city of Hama, which was later stormed by tanks. Ford also visited a town that had witnessed regular protests in the southern province of Deraa, ignoring a new ban on Western diplomats traveling outside the Damascus area.
Along with a group of mostly Western ambassadors, Ford also paid condolences to the family of Ghayath Matar, a 25-year-old protest leader who had distributed flowers to give to soldiers but was arrested and died of apparent torture, activists say.
Washington, seeking to convince Assad to scale back an alliance with U.S. nemesis Iran and backing for militant groups, sought to improve relations with Damascus after U.S. President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
Obama sent Ford to Damascus in January to fill a diplomatic vacuum prevailing since Washington withdrew its ambassador in 2005 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
But relations deteriorated anew after the uprising broke out and Assad ignored international calls to address protester demands that he dismantle the Syrian police state and allow political pluralism.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Ford said Assad was losing support among key constituents and risked plunging Syria into sectarian strife by intensifying a military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
Time was running against Assad, he said at the time.
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