Talk:Hassan Hamada

Notability

The following is the response of the creator to a removed tag that said: “It is proposed that this article be deleted because of the following concern: Classic WP:ONEEVENT case. A non general defecting is not notable.”

“A non general defecting is not notable”: I think this is usually true but with exceptions for a few colonels. For example, colonel riad al-asaad is notable because he became the leader the free Syrian army. I argue that colonel Hassan Hamada is notable because he is the first (and only thus far) pilot to have defected with his jet fighter. The New York Times titled: “Syrian air force colonel's defection a blow to Assad”, and further adds sentences like “Syria's government was jolted Thursday by the first defection from its elite air force in the 16-month uprising”, “his defection raised questions about whether fealty to President Bashar Assad was fraying in the air force, the military branch regarded as closest to the Assad family”, “There have been other defections and desertions from the Syrian military... But no Syrian Air Force pilots had been known to defect, and in such a flamboyant fashion.”… which all underlines the importance of it.

Aram Nerguizian, a scholar of the Middle East and North Africa and a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said: "The air-force defection is not insignificant, It is deeply embarrassing for Assad."The New York Times Also, Hamada, like most Syrian pilots, belongs to the Sunni Muslim majority so his defection generated speculation that Sunni pilots would face new restrictions on any flying missions (ref above).

In addition, this defection had an impact on the Syrian population as demonstrators have been reported to display a model of a MiG-21 fighter plane during demonstrations to celebrate the defection of Hamada (see picture in [1])

Also, his defection creates additional tension between Jordan and Syria. In fact, Syria demanded from Jordan, the return of the plane. Weighing such a request presents awkward complications for Jordan, which has sought to avoid becoming ensnared in the conflict in Syria, an important trading partner.

According to WP:ONEEVENT: “If the event is highly significant, and the individual's role within it is a large one, a separate article is generally appropriate.” I argue that colonel Hassan Hamada, “…fit into this category, as indicated by the large coverage of the event in reliable sources that devotes significant attention to the individual's role.”

I edited the article to better reflect my arguments relating to notability. Tradedia (talk) 00:21, 1 July 2012 (UTC)