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Robert Ford: The American Who Went to Hama
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When 300,000 Syrians gathered in Hama's central square on July 8, 2011, US Ambassador Robert Ford drove there without telling Washington — to stand in solidarity with protesters. Assad's government summoned him and threw tomatoes at the US Embassy. Ford later resigned his post in frustration at the Obama administration's reluctance to arm the opposition, becoming one of the most prominent American critics of US Syria policy from the inside.
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The Drive to Hama — and Its Consequences
Robert Ford arrived in Damascus in January 2011 as the first US Ambassador to Syria in six years — Washington had withdrawn its ambassador after the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005, which was blamed on Syria. His posting was controversial from the start: many in Congress opposed re-engaging Assad diplomatically.
When protests erupted in March 2011 and the Syrian government began shooting protesters, Ford found himself in an impossible position: representing a government whose stated policy was to engage Assad while Assad was massacring his own people.
On July 7-8, 2011, Ford made a decision that shocked Damascus and Washington alike. Without prior authorization from the State Department, he drove from Damascus to Hama — where hundreds of thousands had gathered every Friday for the largest demonstrations Syria had ever seen. He arrived with a small diplomatic convoy, carrying olive branches as a symbol of solidarity. He stood among the protesters.
The Assad government was furious. Syrian state media called it an "interference in Syrian internal affairs." The Syrian government summoned Ford to protest. Pro-regime crowds attacked the US Embassy in Damascus, throwing tomatoes, eggs, and stones. The French Embassy was also attacked. Ford reportedly told Washington: if you want me to go back, I'll go back — but I won't apologize.
His visit was a turning point in US-Syria relations. It made clear that Washington was no longer willing to pretend normalcy with Assad. In October 2011, the US recalled Ford from Damascus "temporarily" for his security. By February 2012, he returned. By March 2012, he was back in Washington permanently as the Assad government's crackdown made his presence untenable.
Ford grew increasingly frustrated with the Obama administration's reluctance to take decisive action in Syria. He watched as promised weapons to moderate rebels were delayed, reduced, or never delivered. He watched as red lines on chemical weapons were not enforced. In February 2014, he resigned from the State Department.
In his resignation, Ford was blunt. He wrote and spoke publicly about how American inaction had cost the Syrian revolution its best opportunity, how the failure to support moderate rebels early had allowed extremists to fill the vacuum, and how the diplomatic process had been used to buy time rather than achieve a solution.
"I was no longer in a position where I felt I could defend the American policy," he told the Middle East Eye in 2014. "We kept telling the opposition that we were going to do more, and then we didn't."
His testimony became one of the most cited American insider critiques of Obama-era Syria policy.
When protests erupted in March 2011 and the Syrian government began shooting protesters, Ford found himself in an impossible position: representing a government whose stated policy was to engage Assad while Assad was massacring his own people.
On July 7-8, 2011, Ford made a decision that shocked Damascus and Washington alike. Without prior authorization from the State Department, he drove from Damascus to Hama — where hundreds of thousands had gathered every Friday for the largest demonstrations Syria had ever seen. He arrived with a small diplomatic convoy, carrying olive branches as a symbol of solidarity. He stood among the protesters.
The Assad government was furious. Syrian state media called it an "interference in Syrian internal affairs." The Syrian government summoned Ford to protest. Pro-regime crowds attacked the US Embassy in Damascus, throwing tomatoes, eggs, and stones. The French Embassy was also attacked. Ford reportedly told Washington: if you want me to go back, I'll go back — but I won't apologize.
His visit was a turning point in US-Syria relations. It made clear that Washington was no longer willing to pretend normalcy with Assad. In October 2011, the US recalled Ford from Damascus "temporarily" for his security. By February 2012, he returned. By March 2012, he was back in Washington permanently as the Assad government's crackdown made his presence untenable.
Ford grew increasingly frustrated with the Obama administration's reluctance to take decisive action in Syria. He watched as promised weapons to moderate rebels were delayed, reduced, or never delivered. He watched as red lines on chemical weapons were not enforced. In February 2014, he resigned from the State Department.
In his resignation, Ford was blunt. He wrote and spoke publicly about how American inaction had cost the Syrian revolution its best opportunity, how the failure to support moderate rebels early had allowed extremists to fill the vacuum, and how the diplomatic process had been used to buy time rather than achieve a solution.
"I was no longer in a position where I felt I could defend the American policy," he told the Middle East Eye in 2014. "We kept telling the opposition that we were going to do more, and then we didn't."
His testimony became one of the most cited American insider critiques of Obama-era Syria policy.
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