Syria: I never would have known

If I hadn't visited the website of the Embassy of the United States in Damascus Syria, I would never have known that

• "In terms of crime, Syria is considered a safe country" (even though the Embassy was attacked in 2006 with "improvised explosives, gunfire, and two vehicles laden with explosives" and U.S. Embassy "facilities" were atacked in 1998 and 2000).

• The Embassy is showing "An Inconvenient Truth" on April 9.
• April 17 is Evacuation Day.
• April 21 is Earth Day.
• A USAID-funded program is helping West Bank children with special needs.

  Note: The headline is somewhat inaccurate; the three-year $30 million Emergency Medical Assistance program (EMAP) is not for all "West Bank children," only the Arab Palestinian ones. If there are any children with special needs among the 431,000 Israeli Jews living in Judea and Samaria, it ssems to be assumed that they don't need our help.
  [CIA Factbook: West Bank: Ethnic groups: Jewish 17%].

• The U.S. Department of State sponsors so many opportunities for Syrians to come to the United States, including

  - "fully-funded" Fulbright Foreign Student scholarships covering two academic years to obtain a master's degree;

  - International Fulbright Science & Technology awards, covering PHD study;

  - Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program (FLTA) for "enhancing mutual understanding"

  - Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, covering one year of study for "mid-career professionals" (email: Damasweb-query@state.gov)

  - Four-to-six-week programs of intensive academic study for university faculty and secondary educators.

  
  Note: I can't understand why thousands of Syrians would participate in these programs when it's well known (at least by Barack Obama supporters) that we suffer from an "achievement gap" in U.S. education, our school buildings are "crumbling," our teachers "feel betrayed and frustrated," and basically, " we don't have good schools ... for all kids."




• In 2003, Congress passed the Syria Accountability Act (Public Law 108-175) "to sanction Syria for its support for terrorism, its occupation of Lebanon, weapons of mass destruction programs, illegal imports of Iraqi oil, and its role in the ongoing security problems in the Middle East."