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Project Milestones

Steps that FDD has taken to support the Syrian dissidents include:


  • In early February 2012, FDD hosted a Skype call with members of the Syrian resistance inside Syria, giving U.S. journalists and policy analysts a rare opportunity to speak with members of the opposition. Read CNN's report of the call here.
  • On November 8th, 2011, FDD released a discussion paper with the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) titled Towards a Post-Assad Syria: Options for the United States and Like-Minded Nations to Further Assist the Anti-Regime Syrian Opposition. This memo proceeds in three parts.  Part one summarizes the response of various foreign governments to the Assad regime’s mass murder of Syrian civilians and other human rights abuses.  Part two highlights statements by Syrian opposition groups calling for humanitarian intervention in Syria.  And part three offers a discussion of options for the United States to respond to the Assad regime.
  • On September 7, 2011, FDD produced a research memo focused on EU sanctions against Syria.  It noted that while 27 members of the European Union recently imposed sanctions on Syria, banning imports of Syrian crude oil and petroleum products, loopholes in the current EU sanctions law allow European energy companies to continue their operations in Syria.  The memo offers nine additional steps to strengthen EU sanctions against the Assad regime.
  • FDD provides research and analysis used in legislation targeting the Syrian regime, including sanctions on the Syrian energy sector (which provides the Assad regime with up to one-third of its government budget).  FDD issued an initial report on “Syria’s Energy Sector:  Its Importance in Sanctioning the Assad Regime and Supporting Pro-Democracy Reformers.”
  • FDD convened a roundtable of leading Syrian dissidents representing various factions within the opposition.  The roundtable also includes outside Syria experts to complement FDD’s in-house staff.  They help guide FDD’s policy recommendations, hold briefings with government officials, and appear in the media.  On August 19, 2011, the working group issued a letter to President Obama, recommending 10 actions his administration can take to support the opposition.

Examples of legislation targeting the Assad regime that was informed by FDD research include the following:

  • Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Reformed and Modernization Act; introduced by Representatives Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Brad Sherman (D-CA)
  • Syria Freedom Support Act; introduced by Representatives Ros-Lehtinen and Eliot Engel (D-NY).
  • The Iran, North Korea and Syria Sanctions Consolidation Act introduced by Senators Menendez, Lieberman and Kyl.
  • Syria Sanctions Act introduced by Senators Gillibrand, Kirk and Lieberman.

 

FDD has worked with partners in and outside of Washington to formulate policy and urge action on Syria. Some explains include:

  • On April 10, 2012, FDD and FPI release a joint bulletin titled What Obama Must Do in Syria after the Failed Annan Plan, following the continued violence against the Syrian people despite the April 10th deadline set by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
  • On February 17, 2012, FDD and FPI published a second letter to President Obama urging the White House to "take immediate action in Syria" to stop the killing of Syrian people. The letter was signed by fifty-six foreign policy experts and former U.S. government officials.
  • On December 19, 2011, FDD and FPI published a letter to President Obama urging the White House to "act more assertively to stop the Assad regime's continuing atrocities against Syrian civilians." The letter was signed by forty-nine foreign policy experts and former U.S. government officials.
  • On November 8th, 2011, FDD released a discussion paper with the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) titled Towards a Post-Assad Syria: Options for the United States and Like-Minded Nations to Further Assist the Anti-Regime Syrian Opposition.