U.S. ambassador to Syria heads to restive city of Hama ahead of planned protests - The Washington Post: "The U.S. ambassador to Syria has positioned himself in the restive city of Hama ahead of planned demonstrations this weekend, State Department officials said Thursday, in an unusual move that appears aimed at discouraging new violence against protesters.
Ambassador Robert Ford acted without official Syrian blessing in traveling to the city of 700,000 that has been at the center of the country’s four-month-old uprising, U.S. officials said. Ford met with townspeople and visited a hospital where injured protesters are being treated.
He planned to stay overnight with the intention of “seeing the activity” on Friday, when thousands were expected to take to the streets following weekly prayer services, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
“For him to go personally at this time and stand with the people of Hama expresses in physical terms, not to mention political terms, our view that the people of Hama have a right to express themselves peacefully,” Nuland said.
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