Robert Ford attacked in Syria (VIDEO)

Foreignpolicy.com ^ | 8/29/11 | Josh Rogin

[Nachum]

A video has emerged of U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford being assaulted by a pro-regime demonstrator on the streets of Damascus last week.

The assault took place before Ford's unapproved trip to the city of Jassem on Aug 23. Ford was present at a gathering of demonstrators who support the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad outside the Cham Palace Hotel in Damascus when one demonstrator ran up to Ford and tried to wrap him in a poster that featured Assad's face.

Ford's security intervened quickly and rushed Ford to his car. The incident was then replayed in a highly produced segment on a Syrian television station owned by Mohamed Hamsho, a businessman is the brother-in-law of the president's brother, Maher al-Assad. Hamsho was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month for siding with the Assad regime during its brutal crackdown on protesters.

Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian activist opposed to Assad living in Maryland, said the TV report accuses Ford of trying to lead a protest in Damascus and even features an out-of-context quote from Edward Peck, the former U.S. diplomat who is now a strong critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East and took a ride on the May 2010 flotilla that tried to break the Gaza blockade and was attacked by the Israel Defense Forces.

[Nachum]

Ambassador to Syria

[Nachum]

The list, ping

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list

http://www.nachumlist.com/

[CdMGuy]

I watched the video. My question is just what is our policy in Syria, and why is the US ambassador being sent around the country to view demonstrations? Is he looking to create problems? Does he not expect to be harassed and possibly attacked by regime supporters? Is this what the Obama administration considers to be good foreign policy? I sure think it is either dumb or no foreign policy, but then, why should I be surprised.

[EternalVigilance]

Hamsho was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month

The Treasury Department? What the heck does the Treasury Department have to do with Syria? LOL...

[WesternPacific]

...Ford's unapproved trip to the city of Jassem on Aug 23..

He doesn't seem to have been sent. He might not be the Brightest bulb in the box.

[ken21]

ditto.

[little jeremiah]

More of the stupid/evil fluster cluck of the Zero administration.

[Nachum]

*luster *uck administration.

I like it.

[yarddog]

It was Robert Ford that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard and lay Jesse James in his grave.

[LucyT]

Robert Ford attacked in Syria

The incident was then replayed in a highly produced segment on a Syrian television station owned by Mohamed Hamsho, a businessman is the brother-in-law of the president's brother, Maher al-Assad. - Hamsho was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month for siding with the Assad regime during its brutal crackdown on protesters.

Hamsho was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month.

The Treasury Department? What the heck does the Treasury Department have to do with Syria?

[Bean Counter]

It was Robert Ford, the dirty little coward
And I wonder how he feels
For he slept in Jesse’s bed and he ate o’ Jesse’s bread
But he laid Jesse James in his grave

[RetiredTexasVet]

Anyone with a bit of intelligence would have left the country already, but intelligence or even a hint of intelligence is not a requirement for a high level position in the Food Stamp President’s administration.

[little jeremiah]

Maybe this is the US Treasury connection? (I could be totally wrong.)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2770377/posts

Justice Dept. Keeping Islamic Bank Settlement Secret (Holder Alert)
JWR ^ | August 29, 2011 | Steven Emerson

Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 8:15:17 AM by yoe

The most transparent administration in history? Why are the details about a tax fraud settlement case with an Islamic bank tied to terrorist groups being hidden from the public?

The Justice Department has agreed to end its investigation into an international financial network with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and a Saudi prince in a settlement in excess of $30 million, sources tell the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

But DOJ officials refuse to release a copy of the settlement or make any comment on it.

“Unfortunately, we’re unable to provide anything in connection with this matter,” DOJ spokesman Charles Miller wrote in response to a query Aug. 16. He did not contest the existence of the settlement with the Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf (IICG). Repeated attempts to obtain the settlement, or at least a clear explanation of why it cannot be released when most government settlements are a part of the public record, have been unsuccessful.

“We will have no further comment,” Miller said.

Reports of a grand jury investigation into an IICG domestic affiliate called Overland Capital surfaced early in 2007. Though the grand jury was convened in Boston in September 2006, a terror-financing prosecutor from DOJ was leading the tax evasion probe into the bank, the Wall Street Journal reported. Overland Capital allegedly was controlled by the Dar al-Maal al-Islami Trust (DMI), an Islamic financial institution founded by Saudi Prince Mohamed al-Faisal and which had at least two influential Muslim Brotherhood figures on its board, the Journal reported.

(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com .

[little jeremiah]

And that’s putting a nice shine on it.