SAF Condemns Terror against U.S. Embassies and Diplomats

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-U.S.Newswire/ -- The Syrian American Forum (SAF) condemns the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Egypt, Yemen and Libya, and the murder of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three of his colleagues. SAF reaffirms its condemnation, in the strongest possible terms, of this, and any acts of terrorism.

It is unfortunate that we feel obliged, in this time of mourning, to bring to the attention of the administration and the public the fact that the Arab Spring is allowed to steer in a direction that is harmful to the national security interests of the U.S. and to the people of the Middle East. Although they may not be directly connected, these acts against the U.S. are direct results of the extremist trend storming the Middle East today. This trend is riding on the wave of the legitimate aspirations of the people for liberty and democracy.

In countries like Syria we see terror groups linked to Al Qaeda and other extremists taking advantage of the security gaps and committing such heinous crimes against the Syrian people. The evidence is clear that fighters from the same Libyan al Qaeda affiliate that claimed responsibility for the Benghazi murders are present in Syria.

While we call for democracy and reform in Syria through international diplomacy, dialogue and national reconciliation, we cannot, and will not, turn a blind eye on the vicious cycle of violence that is allowing such groups to prosper, gain ground and momentum, and turn support for democracy into campaigns of terror against the people of the region and the international community. The experience of Afghanistan mujahedeen in the eighties is still fresh in our minds – especially at this time when we commemorate the crimes of 9/11. 

SAF calls on the U.S. administration and the State Department, to abandon its failed policy of supporting the "enemies of our enemies" at any cost.  Instead, the U.S. should put all of its weight to encourage the international community, the regional countries, and all Syrians to come to the negotiating table and to press ahead with the positive results that emerged from the Syria Action Group meeting in Geneva last June in order to preserve Syria's integrity, sovereignty and the mosaic of the Syrian society. It is vital as well to expand all efforts to keep the Syria we know intact.

media contact: Khalil Matar at 917-969-6155, [email protected]

SOURCE Syrian American Forum