In the Lion's Den_ An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle With Syria - Andrew Tabler [0]
Tabler, Andrew.
In the lion’s den : an eyewitness account of Washington’s battle with Syria / Andrew Tabler. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56976-843-3 (pbk.)
1. United States—Foreign relations—Syria. 2. Syria—Foreign relations—United States. 3. Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946- 4. Assad, Bashar, 1965- 5. Tabler, Andrew. I. Title.
E183.8.S95T33 2011
327.7305691—dc23
2011024015
Cover and interior design: Jonathan Hahn
Cover photo: Phil Smith
Map design: Chris Erichsen
Copyright © 2011 by Andrew Tabler
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Lawrence Hill Books
An imprint of Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 978-1-56976-843-3
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
For my parents, Clarence and Lucille; my brother, Bill; and my grandmother Helen, whose unconditional love made my long journeys possible.
You have retired to your island, with, as you think, all the data about us and our lives. No doubt you are bringing us to judgment on paper in the manner of writers. I wish I could see the result. It must fall far short of truth: I mean such truths as I could tell you about us all—even perhaps about yourself.
—Lawrence Durrell, Balthazar
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Map
Introduction
PART I
1 The Arab World’s Twilight Zone
2 The Great Unraveling
3 Paradise Lost
PART II
4 Pressure Yields Results
5 The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend
6 No Voice Louder than the Cry of Battle
7 Playing with Fire in Eastern Syria
8 Weathering the Storm
Epilogue: The Expectations Gap and the Advent of the Arab Spring
Notes
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would not have been able to tell this story without the help of friends and institutions that encouraged me to write about my experiences in Syria and Lebanon. A good portion of this book was essentially written while I was a fellow with the Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA). My fellowship, which began only days before the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated, allowed me to travel and write for over two years as I “followed my nose”—in the ICWA tradition—around Syria and Lebanon. Special thanks go to Joseph Battat, a former ICWA fellow in China who noticed me while on a mission for the World Bank in Syria and encouraged me to apply to the institute. ICWA executive director Steven Butler, as well as his predecessor, Peter Martin, helped me learn to put myself back into my writing after years of writing and editing dry news. Completing that process was Victoria Rowan, the New York–based writing coach and editor. Through my work with Victoria, I learned a lot about storytelling and how to manage myself through the writing process. I also learned how dilemmas not only define characters but American and Syrian presidents as well.
I could not have endured my sojourn in Syria and Lebanon without the friendship of Michael Karam and Nicholas Blanford, two outstanding Beirut-based writers whose kindness helped me deal with the stress of living in Syria. During our weekly gatherings in Beirut, Mike and Nick, together with friends Norbert Schiller, Anissa Rifai, and Mona Alama, helped me put my experiences in perspective. As did Lee Smith, a good friend and great writer who then called Beirut home. Last but not least, I would like to thank Andrew Lee Butters, my flatmate in Beirut, who helped keep me mentally and physically fit, and Katherine Zoepf, my flatmate in Damascus, who treated me with good food and even better stories.
A number of Syrians made a lasting impact on my stay in Damascus. Special thanks go out to Kinda Kanbar, businessman Abdul Ghani Attar, Abdul Kader Husrieh of Ernst & Young Syria, Ibrahim Hamidi of Al Hayat newspaper, and Ayman Abdel Nour of all4Syria, as well as to Francesca De Chatel, a wonderful writer and editor who ultimately succeeded me as editor in chief of Syria Today. Because of the Syrian regime’s current crackdown,