Editorial

The Syrian 9-11 Black Saturday proved we were right
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Did it really need 17 killed in Damascus and anywhere between 14 to 40 injured for the West to realize that Syria was not bluffing when it repeatedly warned that it was under threat of Islamic fundamentalism?

All the terrorist attacks that failed in Syria since 2003 were not hoaxes invented by the Syrians to create a common enemy in “Islamic” fundamentalists with the United States. The blast took place just before 8 am on September 27, 2008, at the Sidi Miqdad neighborhood on the road to Damascus International Airport. Preliminary investigations proved that the blast was conducted by a suicide bomber, described as a “takfiri” through a GMC Sedan with a non-Syrian license plate (coming either from Iraq or Lebanon). If anything, it also proved that Syria had been right all along.


Singing Suku, Suku
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In the 1950s, the legendary Louis Armstrong the giant of American jazz music performed at the Damascus International Fair. The Damascenes swayed to the unforgettable melody
of his trumpet, welcoming him, then sending him off-stage, with a standing ovation. They liked the America of the 1950s, and nothing mirrored it more brilliantly than Amstrong’s charisma and talent.

Shortly afterwards, the director of the US Information Office in Syria, Harris Peel, came up with a brilliant idea. He decided to send Cinerama, which had never been shown outside the US, to the Damascus Fair, “to show America to the world.” The Cinerama gave a three-panel ultra-wide screen projection of motion pictures, all in panoramic view.
People did not watch it; they experienced it. The Damascenes were always hungry for American films, preferring action-filled Western thrillers of Hollywood to the mushy romantic flicks of French cinema. The Damascus Fair was just opening and slated as the biggest in the Midlde East.
A large outdoor theatre was built at the fairgrounds, and Cinerama opened on September 2, 1954, attended by 1,500 notables from Damascus, including then President of the Republic, Hashem al-Atasi. Those who could not get tickets to the show would climb trees and nearby rooftops to get a glimpse of this amazing American large screen spectacle. Injuries were a nightly event as un-ticketed fans fell from snapped branches to break arms and legs.


A promising generation?
I can understand and fully sympathize with those who speak English with an Arabic accent, replacing their “P” with a “B.” The “P” after all does not exist in Arabic so from where they come from, it’s perfectly safe to say “combuter, Baris, and Eurobe.” A store near my office has a big sign saying any women’s hand-bag for “200 SB” (Syrian Bounds). Funny as it may sound, I both respect and accept that. They are speaking English with an Arabic accent, just like the Pakistanis, the Indians, or the French do when speaking English.

Pushing more Syrians to commit the act of the start
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I claim to have no effectual bias in life, except one that favors entrepreneurs. It does not apply to business entrepreneurs only, but to everyone that has the unwavering spirit to start anything that can lead to positive change. Good intentions alone never clothed anyone. When asked to define entrepreneurship, I tend to avoid all the business language about market, opportunity, and risk, and the confusion of the many definitions of the originally French word. My answer has always made sense: entrepreneurship is the “art of the start,” and entrepreneurs are artists that see only a seed but draw a tree. Their vision and belief make them feel safe to commit the act of the start.

Janaury Issue of Forward Digital Up Now
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You can now read the January 2010 issue of Forward online on:

http://anax8a.pressmart.com/forwardsyria/index.aspx

While flipping through the January issue, you can still check the December issue by clicking on "More" then choosing "Back Issues"


Air Force One in Damascus?

Last month, President Bashar al-Assad invited his US counterpart Barack Obama to visit Syria, extended via Sky News where the Syrian leader said, “I would like to welcome him to Syria.” When asked on when the meeting would take place, President Assad said, “It is up to him!''

Talk of a Syrian-US summit has been in the air for several months. Last February, many speculated that the two men would meet in Istanbul, along with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Speaking to Forward Magazine this issue, veteran US journalist Seymour Hersh noted: “If Obama met with Assad, it is very likely that they would like and respect each other. Both are young, self-confident, and widely admired by their people.” Earlier, Hersh had written an article for The New Yorker, also advocating a Syrian-US Summit, saying: “Obama said that he would be willing to sit down with Assad in the first year of his presidency, without preconditions.” If President Obama were to live up to his promise, he still has five more months, for either a visit to Damascus, or a Syrian-US summit.


September Issue of Forward Magazine Out Now

Special Report: Syrian Jews at home and in the Diaspora

Abdulsalam Haykal: Buy shares in the Syrian dream

Georges Kern: CEO of IWC speaks to Forward

Politics: Syria-US relations progressing, but disparities remain


Where peace of the brave is made...

An open letter to the new US Ambassador to Syria

Dear Mr. Ambassador,

With great pleasure we welcome you to Damascus, a city of lights, history, peace, and passion. Damascus is a warm host, and has been good to all your predecessors from the days of George Wadwsorth during World War II, all the way to your immediate predecessor Margaret Scooby, who was unfortunately withdrawn by ex-President Bush, in February 2005.


Forward Magazine (FW:) is now in Lebanon

     

The quality content that has become an international source about Syria can now be found in Lebanon. Read our exclusive interviews, internationally renowned writers, and major Syrian political analysis, and more in Forward Magazine.