The US and French Ambassadors to Syria Vote with their Feet by Visiting Hama

US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford travelled to Hama on Thursday. He met with citizens, visited a hospital, stayed overnight and returned to Damascus before Friday prayers began so that his presence “would not be a distraction,” according to the US State Department.

Syrian authorities said Ambassador Ford had travelled without proper approvals, but the State Department said he was controlled at several checkpoints and allowed to pass.

The Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, said that Ford had gone to Hama to speak to “saboteurs” and incite them to protest and refuse to participate in a regime-backed national dialogue process.

It should be noted that the Friday protests, called “No Dialogue,” were about exactly this topic, not wanting to participate in the al-Assad government’s dialogue.

According to the SANA, a Syrian Foreign Ministry official said Ford's visit was "clear evidence of the U.S. involvement in the ongoing events in Syria and its bids to aggravate the situations which destabilize Syria.''

According to CNN, Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, called the visit "an escalation on the part of the U.S. ambassador. Never before has an ambassador visited a city with a problem like the case of Hama without permission."

The US State Department also commented on the visit. "For him to go personally at this time and stand with the people of Hama, I think, expresses in physical terms -- not to mention political terms -- our view that the people of Hama have the right to express themselves peacefully and that we are concerned about the posture that the security forces have taken," State Department Victoria Nuland said.

At the same time, the French ambassador, Eric Chevallier, visited Hama and stayed overnight, leaving Friday. He visited a hospital and met with medical staff, as well as wounded protesters and their families.

During the Cold War, the West often said that, given the chance, people will vote with their feet, that is, move to democratic countries where they may find greater personal opportunities.

What we saw this week was the reverse of that coin. Two western ambassadors voted with their feet by joining the Syrian protesters in Hama.