The visits the American and French ambassadors, Robert Ford and Eric Chevalier, paid to Hama Friday, July 8, in the thick of the half-million turnout in Orontes Square, were more than just a provocative gesture of solidarity with the forces rallying to oust Bashar Assad; they provided a rare glimpse of the joint effort underway between Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and Tayyip Erdoganto solve an Arab Revolt conflict by compromise.

Ambassador Ford visited Hama twice – the first time Thursday.  He made a point of showing Washington's
outrage at the Assad regime's barbaric use of tank artillery, snipers and abuse to suppress the nearly four-month uprising by a visit to Hourani Hospital. There he watched the casualties of Syrian military fire being brought in, including 26 fatalities.
Those visits sparked a sharp exchange: The Syrian Interior Ministry accused the US ambassador of meeting "saboteurs and inciting them to violence, protest and rejection of dialogue," which the authorities say will begin on Sunday, July 10. Read the rest on: Debkafile