The Common Good hosted a special conference call with Ambassador Robert Ford, former US Ambassador to Syria. Ambassador Ford gave credible insights into the state of the dispute in Syria, and the future of the current state in the Middle East.
The Common Good was honored to offer members a fresh take on the Syria conflict in a conference call with former US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. Mr. Ford is a decorated diplomat who served as Ambassador to Syria under the Obama administration, with an extensive diplomatic tenure in Iraq as well as Northern Africa.
Ambassador Ford discussed many of the key proceedings taking place in Syria, including new developments such as the insertion of the Turkish military into the conflict. Mr. Ford has a decorated history of diplomacy in the Middle East. In 2012, he was rewarded by the John F. Kennedy library in Boston with the annual Profile in Courage Award for his defense of human rights in Syria. His expertise on these issues provided members with unique insights towards the ramifications of Turkey’s actions, such as potential consequences regarding NATO as well as the US relationship with the democracy supportive Kurds.
The Ambassador opened up the call to highly educated questions from informed members who shared his concerns on the conflict. His responses provided a plethora of distinct perspectives, unique to someone of his expertise.
Sidney Blumenthal is an acclaimed journalist and author of many books including A Self-Made Man, Wrestling with His Angel and All the Powers of Earth, the first three volumes in his five-volume biography series The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln that the New York Times book review has called “Magisterial…A vividly written, wide-ranging and often surprising account of the president-to-be.” He is the former assistant and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. He has been a national staff reporter for The Washington Post and Washington editor and writer for The New Yorker. His books include the bestselling The Clinton Wars, The Rise of the Counter-Establishment, and The Permanent Campaign. He was the executive producer of the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, directed by Alex Gibney, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2007.
