Mr Moubayed, really, what does a million year old camel fossil reveal about a weak, modern nation state with dimunitive proportions?

Are you an adherent to some arcane Syrian nationalist ideas which links today's Baathist regime to prehistoric archeological findings?
You should really be straight forward to your readership and note that the preIslamic Greek use and origin of the name Syria referred to what is now Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria.

And the greatest glory of Syria was when Damascus was the capital of the Islamic khilafah of the Ummayah which stretched for 1000s of miles. After that, from the 1500s to the 1900s, Syria was a part of the Uthmani khilafah state in Istanbul. So from 600 to 1900, Syria has been an important part of the larger Islamic state, not a separate country which ruled by secular Arab nationalism.

For the record, the Sykes Picot Agreement of 1916 partitioned the Uthmani Khilafah (called the Ottoman empire) between the French, British, Russia. Islamic rule ended after 100s of years and authority was surrendered to French imperial forces. The French empire gained control of the region known today as Syria and ruled there directly via colonial authority.

The Anglo French Declaration of 1918 stated that the British and French empires would assist in the formation of indigenous national governments and administrations (and subsequently their national militaries) in Syria and Mesopotamia (aka Iraq). This declaration specifically indicates that each empire would erect nation states not already in existance. Thus, the French empire would erect the Syrian national government.

According to the pinnacle historic account A Peace to End all Peace by David Fromkin, in 1919 the British empire supported Arab nationalist groups in favor of Syrian independence in Damascus in order to weaken Prince Feisal and French imperial control and dominion. In response, French imperial forces occupied Syria, kicked out the weak Feisal, divided Syria into what is today Lebanon and Syria. After its 1920 occupation, France declared it would rule Syria: "the whole of it forever".
By WWII, in 1944 de Gaulle essentially guaranteed Syrian independence once it was ready. It followed in 1945. But even in the 1973 Constitutional preamble, Syria recognizes its aspirations to be bigger than the existing borders drawn by the French. It aspires to an Arab unified state.

So the Syrian constitution speaks to the diminutive state of the Syrian nation which aspires to something bigger. Given that Syria has always been either a part of the Islamic state, or before that part of the Roman empire, or Persian Empire, the existing Syria, partially occupied and dominated by Israel, forced to abandon Lebanon despite its historic unity, today's existing Syria is pathetic.

My accusations do not speak of the people of Syria. Rather, I speak to the state of Syria the nation and national government and the idea that Syrian nationalism somehow innoculates the Syrian Baathist regime and the nationalist entity from criticism and condemnation for its vanglorious denigration.

Sami's article is very sound and logical. We (the 18,000,000 who comprise Syria's Diaspora) are both Syria's curse and its blessing. For too long the offical Baathist élan inside Syria had been expulsive, our passport office is actually called; the Department of "Emigration" and passports. But if what I saw in Damascus (I was there last week) is an indicator of things to come, we'll all soon start to flow back to Syria.

Things seem grim here in the USA, while a sense of possibility has infused all of Syria. It’s a pandemic; from the arts (Bab El Harrah), to banks (Bank Audi), to medicine (I'm an assistant clinical professor of plastic surgery at Georgetown who chose to have his surgery done by Dr. Tarif Aita in Damascus), to old age homes (Dar al Saada). If Syria survives the grave external challenges it's facing it’ll prosper.

Dr. Moubayed,

You article starts by clearly articulating that the Syrians in the Diaspora largely represent victims, those driven from their homeland by various forms of persecution. I applaud this view since it reflects the truth that the global Syrian Diaspora are indeed victims.

However, I would like to invite you to then examine the perspective among Syrians, both within and outside of the government, that looks upon these people as benefactors of Syria; meaning, these victims should somehow be there to help Syria. This defines the entire relationship that the Syrian government has held toward the global Diaspora. There has never been any effort made to address the causes of their migration, either collectively or more importantly, personally.

Is the Syrian government admitting it is truly such a charity case that it must rely on the charity of those it has perecuted? Is the government and the general populous so convinced of how bad Syrians suffer from residing in Syria that they all admit that the only distinguishing factor that would allow a country to look at its greatest victims as their salvation the fact that they escaped the persecution long enough to make something of themselves.

When do you think Syrians will join you in recognizing that the Diaspora represent victims who at minimum were forced to give up their families, communities and country in order to live a better life? When do you think Syria will aspire to be better than other countries in order to exceed the threshhold required to attract these people back?

If the answer is never, then the process will never begin and the results will never come. Unfortinately, you cannot solve the problems of the past with the same thinking that created it. Time for your perspective on the global Syrian Diaspora to take root in order to expose the obvious contradiction which looks at the Syrian diaspora as victim-saviors.

Shame on the Syrian government, haven't they taken enough from these people already?

It is pure fiction to think that the majority of Syrians will return to Syria or that after a generation those who live abroad with their successful careers, either themselves or their children, will even consider Syria a place to call home. The existence of a Syrian Diaspora, not matter how great in number, is a perishable good. Every day that someone leaves, his or her entire branch of the Syrian family tree is cut off. You cannot claim getting a few acorns out of an entire forest as any sort of success except in the Syrian mentality of under achievement that has taken root.

The cultural gaps are so great between the Diaspora and their homeland that only a systematic and programmatic approach to reversing the brain drain will ever have a chance of succeeding. Let the dynamics play out naturally means that Syria will never outpace the negative dynamics at play. Sadly, the Ministry of Expatriates was just another excuse to call someone Your Excellency, rather than the title they should bare: Your Lousy-Incompetentness.

When you have a country governed by people who treat people like animals, any self respecting person will, when faced with the choice, chose living like a human being and leave. Those brave souls who stay or return are chasing a fantasy that is not shared by the leadership of Syria who drove out Syrians deliberately, not accidentally, because intelligence is the greatest source of wealth and as the former Minister of Economy of Syria once said, Dr. Mohamad Imady, "we believed in Syria that capital governs, so we limited the capabilities of the private sector to maintain control." The intellectual wealth represented by the human capital of the country is a far greater threat to the barbaric, corrupt, ignorant and insincere who rule and fool Syria today. They do not deserve to lend their name to Syria, or to have the definition of what it means to be Syrian to be so corrupted by the dynamics they have created.

The 18 million Syrians of the global Diaspora are dying in both directions. The older generations are passing away, while the newer generations are undergoing assimilation that at best they may have some physical genetic connection to Syria, but are the furthest thing from being Syrian. Those left in between are still working hard on their future, and only when Syria respects the individual and empowers him for economic and human self-determination will any chance exist of gaining even a fraction of this 18 million.

Compare Syria and Israel, and you find that the former is greater at expelling its own population while Israel excels at expelling others' populations? So, Syria actually is Israel's greatest ally in the region in the undoing of its civilization and thats why its government has endured for so long, no other reason than in the mind of Israelis it is a meritocracy and Syria's government is doing a far greater job at destroying Syria than they ever could.

Excellent article Sami.

Baki,

Those "reliable media outlets" ... do they include the Financial times?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3b50f052-8333-11dd-907e-000077b07658.html

"Syria’s religious tolerance belies critics"

By Andrew England in Ma’aloula

Read it.

Nation building is definitely commendable. However, reputation building is also very important, especially for young nations like modern Syria. Syrians did so in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Germany, Europe in general and the Americas. Just like the Jews, the Armenians, the Turks in Germany, some North-Africans in France, etc. Within a global economy, you could be as good outside your mother country than inside.

It is indeed a pity to end up with a George W. Bush doing as much harm to Syria than a Gamal Abdel-Nasser: both were obsessed by a "mission" which was definitely not the right one!

I respect all opinions, but to say that "Syria was created by the French" is one of the worst statements I have heard in my life, showing just how misinformed the person who wrote the comment really is. Syria is an ancient country. Just last week, the remains of a camel have been found that are 1 million years old! One million! That is how old Syria was. To say that Syria was created by the French is going way overboard. The Syrian republic was created in 1932. Syria has been around longer than that, and it is the mother land that produced the modern states of Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Mosul in Iraq. Syria has existed long before the US; that is a fact. When the law debating women sufferage was debated in the Syrian parliament in 1919, it was not even federal law in the US. It became mandatory in Syria in 1949, before Switerzland, Lebanon, Egypt, and certain countries in Europe. We had women ministers in Syria long before Albreight and Condi Rice. Syria had electricity in 1903; before cities in Europe like Lyon did. Please re-read Syrian history correctly.

Syria is a poor, tiny, insignificant nation and deserves to be until it sheds its pathetic nationalist secular regime.

Its no bigger than North Dakota, 17.9 million pop, 86% literacy, 10-20% unemployment, a GDP (PPP) of $87.9 billion, $37 billion officially.

Syria has been ruled by a Baathist regime brought to power by the CIA. The Baathists remain in power through brutal authoritarianism. While they haven't always obeyed American interests, the Baathists did their most important function for America: brutal repression of the Muslim people to keep them from self determination and acting independent from American interests.

http://www.michaeloren.com/

Syria was part of the larger Islamic state. Its quite reasonable to see that Syria will continue to be weak, poor, pathetic as long as it remains a nation state created by the French. When Syria joins with the rest of the region to form a single state with shared economic, political, ideological beliefs and designs, it will regain its glory.

Thank you for a very passionate, lively and enlightening presentation. As an outsider I learned a lot.I too would hope that for the sake of the Syrian people that Syrian domestic politics and economy would become attractive and vibrant. Nonetheless, although I detest the failed and tragically flawed policies of the Bush presidency, they can not be blamed for your domestic problems since 2002. Syria had a large and obvious role in the tragic destabilization of Lebanon, including several misguided assassinations and the promotion of Hizballah, thus serving rabid parochial interests, rather than reaching to provide civilized assistance in a troubled region. You do not discuss this. Syria is suffering from instability it brought upon itself.

This is a remarkably informative article considering what usually ends up on this site. I had no idea depopulation was even a major problem in Syria, let alone the causes.

I think it will take some time to digest the information. Thank you nonetheless.

The most alarming issue at the present time Syria is confronting is the severe violation of Human Rights, Women rights and lack of freedom of speech.

According to some reliable media outlets, hundreds of independent journalists and activists have lately been detained, decaying in Syrian notorious jails without any legal rights.

The perpetual persecution an discrimination of diverse religious and ethnic minorities is another key factor culminating in the departure of large number of Syrian citizens for good.

The lesson seems to be when the Syrian Government, which has not been terribly responsive to the will or need of its citizens since its creation after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, leans towar a free society, the country prospers and the people stay. When they swing toward the fear society, the people leave.

When they create a crisis, such as assasinating or at least assisting in same, the head of a neighboring state, they get upset because the world isn't happy with their actions. Ditto for supporting terrorists, starting nuclear bomb research, aligning with Iran, saber rattling Israel, aligning with Nasser, etc, things don't go well and they deal with the dissent by spying on, imprisoning, and worse, to their own citizens. Why would anyone want to leave such a worker's paradise? Why are they suprised at the world reaction to their actions and threats?

The real question, is regime change possible, is a somewhat secularist, somewhat democratic, somewhat free society possible in Syria, or is the dictatorship and repression too much to overcome?