In the Lion's Den_ An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle With Syria - Andrew Tabler [24]
Looking for a way out, I took a week’s vacation in July and traveled from Amman, Jordan, to Damascus to talk with Rola. Sitting in her office at the SEBC, I explained my novel idea for improving Syria’s image: create an English-language, privately owned magazine and give its writers freedom to write critically on issues in Syria. Much of OBG’s success in the Arab world was simply based on the fact that well-edited English-language articles, based on in-country research, were virtually nonexistent. Creating high-quality articles wasn’t simply a matter of editing, however. The uncertain red lines governing media in Syria would have to be thrown out of the window as well. The only restriction that we would observe would be avoiding harsh criticism of the president and his wife.
When I finished my presentation, Rola looked into my eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled. “Interesting,” she said. “Can you draw up plans to create such a magazine?”
As I worked on the plans at a friend’s house in Damascus, I watched the news carefully to see which way the wind was blowing between Washington and Damascus. Everything seemed quiet, and there was no news of any fallout from Bolton’s WMD testimony. It seemed that Powell’s more stern diplomatic approach with Syria had worked and that Washington’s interests in preserving intelligence cooperation in the war on terror trumped other issues.
A week later, I handed Rola a business plan to create Syria Today—a quarterly magazine on Syrian affairs—before returning to my work with OBG in Jordan. Soon after I arrived at my hotel in Amman, Rola called me from Damascus. “The first lady loved your proposal,” she said. “Can you make it here next week to go over the details with her?”
As soon as Rola and I walked through her office door, I sensed something was different about Asma al-Assad. She seemed tired and preoccupied. The first characteristic I could chalk up to the fact that she was pregnant; the second I couldn’t tell, but I guessed it was a result of the political situation.
After a bit of casual chat, she got right down to business. She told me she had read the business plan and liked the idea. During the week that I was in Amman, Asma and Rola had agreed that Syria Today would be set up as a start-up company in the business incubator of a new NGO being established under Asma’s patronage: Modernizing and Activating Women’s Role in Economic Development (MAWRED). Leila, with whom I had developed the business plan, would be the lead entrepreneur, legally hosted in the incubator.
I would be hired as the media adviser for FIRDOS, the NGO I had written about six months before. While I would have duties editing materials for FIRDOS, I would be seconded to MAWRED to advise Leila on founding Syria Today. After reading through the business plan together, she only had one question: “Are you sure you will have enough time to advise FIRDOS and work on Syria Today at the same time?” I assured her that I would.
After a half an hour of discussing the details, Rola and I said good-bye to the first lady and piled into the palace car for the ride back down the hill. As we rolled out of the front gate, I turned to Rola and blurted out, “Strange, she didn’t talk about the costs I outlined. I was going to say something, but I was afraid to ask.” Rola suddenly looked serious and shushed me by putting a finger to her lips, then pointed to the palace drivers in the front seat.
After a few seconds, her smile returned. “She likes you,” she said. “You are going to do well here.”
3
PARADISE LOST
It was October 5, 2003—two weeks to the day after I began work at FIRDOS. I sat in the NGO’s kitchen reading the Syrian broadsheets on my morning coffee break. On most days, I was able to read the main pages of Syria’s state-owned broadsheets in a mere fifteen minutes. This wasn’t because my Arabic was that