Truth has come and falsehood has perished

There is no online text of Jolani's speech. I literally listened to the entire speech and typed it out.

Truth has come and falsehood has perished

The Speech of Syrian President al Daraa at the UN

September 25, 2025

A land of ancient civilization and culture deserves to be a state of law. Protecting everyone, safeguarding rights, guaranteeing freedoms, and fostering life to flourish while turning the page of a wretched past. We are determined to restore Syria’s dignity, glory and honor. And in continuation of the Syrian story, I declare before you today the triumph of truth over falsehood. Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world. This announcement is the echo of a great people’s will. A people who forged glory throughout the ages, who rose again from beneath the rubble to restore their rights and freedom and dignity. On behalf of the Syrian people, I extend gratitude to everyone who stood by the Syrian cause, who aided Syrians in their tragedy, and who welcomed them in their countries, and to all nations and peoples who rejoiced in the victory of the Syrian people’s will. And I particularly thank Turkey, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all Arab and Islamic states, the United States of America, and the European Union. And before I conclude, let me affirm. The suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one. We are among the people most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza, its children and women and all peoples facing violations and aggressions. We call for an immediate end to the war. In conclusion, the Syrian story has not come to an end. It continues to write a new chapter, entitled Peace, Prosperity, and Development. And may the Peace of God be upon you. 

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim, in the name of God most Merciful most Compassionate: 

The Syrian story is filled with emotions, and it mixes pain with hope. The Syrian story is a struggle between good and evil, and between the weak, right cause, that has no supporter except God. Our story is one of the lessons of history, and it is an embodiment of noble human meanings and values in this eternal struggle between good and evil. We find in this Syrian story a new chapter of the struggle, one filled with creativity and determination and patience and torture and pain and sacrifice, and clinging on to noble customs and values and hard work and relying on God. All these are tools for truth against injustice and falsehood. 

Your Excellency, Mister Secretarial General, Madame President of the General Assembly. Your Excellency, may the peace of God be upon you. I come to you from Damascus, the Capital of History and the Cradle of Civilizations, a beautiful country that has taught the world the meaning of Civilization and values and coexistence, to be a beacon for the world.

Syria however for 60 years, fell under oppressive rule that disregarded the value of the territory it ruled over. For long years, we suffered under injustice and deprivation and oppression, and we rose - Bismillah - and in claiming our dignity, the previous regime has used the worst kind of torture against our people ; chemical weapons and bombardment and torture and prison and displacement and sectarian strife and using drugs against our people and the world.

It has torn our country apart, and brought forth fighters from around the world. The former regime killed around a million innocent people and displaced thousands and millions, and demolished 2 million homes. Ladies and Gentleman, the unarmed people were attacked, using chemical weapons. Our women and children have inhaled toxic gases. All this to silence truth. And with all this criminality, there was no language for solution. Despite the offers, the community had no choice but to organize itself, and to organize militarily and to oust a criminal regime. 

It was a military operation that was filled with mercy and good, and that prioritized tolerance, and that did not target civilians. It targeted justice without vengeance. We restored our right, and we became victorious for the sake of our grievances. We were victorious for the mothers of the martyrs, and for all of you people of the world, for the future of our children and yours. And we pave the way of the refugee, and we destroyed the trafficking of drugs. Accordingly, Syria has transported from an exporter of crises to opportunities for peace for Syria and the region. 

Ladies and Gentleman. This unique Syrian achievement and the solidarity between our peoples has led us to try to uproot sectarianism and to fight against attempts to divide our country once again. But the Syrian people are once again aware enough to understand, and to resist.

We reformed Commissions for fact-finding and granted access to UN fact finding missions. I guarantee to bring accountable anyone that is responsible for bloodshed. And in this context, the Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue. And Israeli policies contradict the international supporting position for Syria, which threatens new crises and struggles in our region. For this purpose, and in face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, and we are committed to the disengagement of forces agreement of 1974, and we call on the international community to stand beside us in the face of these attacks. 

Ladies and Gentleman, from the very moment the former regime fell, we set out a clear strategic policy built upon three pillars: Balanced diplomacy, security, stability and economic development. We filled the power vacuum, called for an inclusive national dialogue and announced a government of competence. We strengthened the principle of participation and established a national commission for transitional justice, and another for the missing, ensuring justice and fairness. We are now proceeding toward electing representatives of people in the legislative council. We restructured all civil and military institutions, dissolving all previous formations. Through intensive diplomatic activity, Syria restored its international relations, and forged regional and global partnerships, and achieved the lifting of most international sanctions. And we call now for the complete lifting of sanctions, so that they no longer shackle the Syrian people. Investment laws have been amended and major regional and international companies have already begun entering the Syrian market, contributing through investment and construction.

Syria today is rebuilding itself through establishing a new state, building institutions, and laws that guarantee the rights of all without exception. A land of ancient civilization and culture deserves to be a state of law. Protecting everyone, safeguarding rights, guaranteeing freedoms, and fostering life to flourish while turning the page of a wretched past. We are determined to restore Syria’s dignity, glory and honor. And in continuation of the Syrian story, I declare before you today the triumph of truth over falsehood. Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world. This announcement is the echo of a great people’s will. A people who forged glory throughout the ages, who rose again from beneath the rubble to restore their rights and freedom and dignity. On behalf of the Syrian people, I extend gratitude to everyone who stood by the Syrian cause, who aided Syrians in their tragedy, and who welcomed them in their countries, and to all nations and peoples who rejoiced in the victory of the Syrian people’s will. And I particularly thank Turkey, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all Arab and Islamic states, the United States of America, and the European Union.

And before I conclude, let me affirm. The suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one. We are among the people most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza, its children and women and all peoples facing violations and aggressions. We call for an immediate end to the war.

In conclusion, the Syrian story has not come to an end. It continues to write a new chapter, entitled Peace, Prosperity, and Development. And may the Peace of God be upon you.

Trying to Understand Syria

On Monday, August 1, 2016 I was privileged to have an in depth conversation with a Syrian doctor who has lived in the US for the past 27 years, to get his personal analysis of the political situation in Syria. I had approached him with many questions due to what appeared to me to be a near complete disconnect between Islamic vs Leftist, or US vs Russian news reports. I would like to resolve this gap in mutual understanding to move to the next level of problem solving.

Sam said in order to understand, we have to go back in history. His father was a member of the socialist, nationalist Baathist party, which was one of many post-colonial movements, and came to power in Syria in 1963. He said his father was a “true leftist” and a high-ranking military officer. In 1970, Hafiz al-Assad, the defense minister, staged a coup against the party to take power. He claimed his intention was to get the Baath party on the right track after it had become corrupted. Assad’s “corrective movement” purged half or more of the party’s leaders, including Sam’s father.

Leftists in Syria believe that Hafiz al-Assad’s coup was staged by the West in order to dismantle the socialist movement. The US at that time was propping up several governments in South America, Southeast Asia and Africa where policy decisions were made by one person. These governments, including the newly installed Assad regime, were less than socialist and more like a dictatorship. Under Assad, the political rhetoric remained leftist but in actuality, Assad tortured and wiped out all the Communists in Syria, which had been around 10% of the population.

King Hussein of Jordan had previously kicked the Palestinians out of Jordan and sent them to Lebanon. Under Hafiz Assad, Syria occupied Lebanon and purged both leftists and Palestinians. He sent the PLO and Arafat out of Lebanon and forced them to live in Tunisia. Eventually, they were able to return to the West Bank after Arafat’s peace treaty with Israel.

The Syrian regime has always been pro-Western and pro-Israel but using leftist rhetoric because of popular sentiment. Assad depended heavily on his Alawite sect, the elite of which became a mafia ruling the country and dominating the military and intelligence agencies. Assad ruled by force of intimidation and torture. His dictatorship was run by the Alawite minority using socialist slogans. Syria was not anti-American/pro-Russia as many western leftists believed. The Syrian regime, similarly to the Iranian, would use slogans such as “resistance and steadfastness” and “Death to America!” which caused the gullible to believe these regimes were anti-imperialist. However, Iran has helped the US greatly in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The US then basically handed the power to Iran in Iraq after removing Saddam Hussein at great cost.

Syria was also no anti-imperialist. The Golan Heights never had a more secure Israeli border until after Assad. Rather than pushing against Israel, Assad was busy fighting Palestinians in Lebanon. If Assad had pushed against Israel, Israel would not have swallowed the West Bank.

The US didn’t mind him saying anti-American things. He still sent his kids to college in the US and came to the US for medical treatment. His and his junta’s assets were secured in Western banks. Assad regime was not anti-US nor anti-Israel.

The Syrian Revolution came in spite of the Americans, it was not instigated by the US. They said at first they would support the “moderates” but they didn’t deliver on their promise. The US could have helped Syrians overthrow the regime but the fighters didn’t get the anti-aircraft missiles they needed, (and were crucial to win) except what they captured from the regime. The US did give FSA a few anti-tank missiles but the revolution could not survive without anti-aircraft missiles, which the US gave out 2 or 3 at a time. The short supply was secured by the US government, which could deactivate the anti-aircraft missiles at will. The technology was constantly monitored as to its whereabouts by the US, and only one person was allowed to use it, using their thumbprint. Then whenever the US decided they could cut him off. So this American help was not help. There was no trust.

Had the US supported moderate rebels, they would have overthrown Assad long ago. US is working with the regime. Their goal is not to allow any side to win, and not ending anything.

Chemical weapons were used, and nothing happened despite American declared red lines. There was a point when the regime was weak but the US did not intervene to tip the balance towards the rebels. After a few planes had been shot down, Assad would have been forced to come to the negotiating table. But the US is working with the Russians.

The US gave limited amounts of weapons to FSA -  the Syrian army members that defected because they refused to fire upon their own people and have now joined the people’s struggle. The FSA received no practical help from the US. The Islamists have more support. They are rumored to receive weapons from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and even from Iran and the regime!

Why? Because the Syrian regime wants to be seen as “fighting Islamic extremists.” The world would see the moderate democratic rights activists as a viable option to replace Assad. But the world will never accept an Islamic government. Therefore in 2012, the regime actually released thousands of Islamic movement prisoners, who became the leaders of the Islamic resistance, which soon overpowered the secular Free Syria movement. Most Syrians do not want an Islamic government and many even prefer the regime, but the world powers promoted the Islamists in order to get rid of the potential acceptance of a popular Syrian movement for democracy.

The regime is acting in concert with the West’s policies. They got rid of any acceptable replacement to their government. The initial revolution was wiped out and their struggle for freedom was replaced by a struggle between the regime and Islamist forces.

Since the 1940’s, there existed the Muslim Brotherhood, who wanted to work within the system and use elections to promote their political platform, but there was no big Islamic movement in Syria. The moderate Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed and their members would be executed.

ISIS could not survive without outside support. They have regular military parades displaying their weaponry but nobody bombs them. Nobody touches the ISIS convoys with their many many vehicles. They are supposedly opposed by Russia, the West, and all other countries but even the US bombing is not effective. It serves no purpose except to justify continued military presence in the area.

The US support to the Kurds is very open, and serves to demonstrate the difference between Kurdish areas and other areas in Syria. Any time a Kurdish town is about to fall, the US will actively intervene effectively. The Kurds have a defacto alliance with the Syrian regime, who does not bomb them, and with Israel, who used them to fight against Saddam Hussein.

Nobody really knows who arms ISIS. They are heavily armed, made up of foreign fighters, and they are fighting the Syrian regime’s foes. The regime gave up land to ISIS without a fight. There was a regime prison notorious for torture. ISIS blew up the prison, destroying all evidence.

Sam said the US preferred Assad and stability for their geopolitical ambitions. Assad helped Israel neutralize Egypt in Sinai. He told me to look up Henry Kissinger’s 1973 pact between Assad and Israel.

Regardless of what the US wants, the Assad regime is no longer acceptable to govern because of what he has done. Assad has to be replaced; could be with a similar regime with a new name but that he needs to be replaced is a fact. It doesn’t mean that the US desires it but they have to work with the situation. The US has not supported the uprising against Assad. But at this point there is no choice for the world powers. Once they desire to solve the problem, replacement of Assad is a must. This is not a victory for the revolution. Perhaps some of the people’s demands will be addressed.

FSA Making Strides Despite Russian Bombing

My primary access to information in the English language, other than New Trend, is from youtube videos forwarded by Syrian Americans of live war footage as well as Arabic news shows that have subtitles or at least give a summary of what is going on in the video. So I lack military knowledge, but I have grown up around the Arabs of Michigan.

My intuitive analysis is that the mainstream attitude of Syrian-American youth is represented by support for the Free Syrian Army. Al-Nusra's approach to politics represents the mainstream point of view of the Sunni religious conservative elders. ISIS represents or draws from the glorious End Times Prophecies, including the Return of Jesus (pbuh), that are described in some Islamic hadith and are very often quoted by South Asians. Some Muslims base a large part of their faith upon these prophecies while others view these hadith as weak and suspect that they were planted by the British Illuminati. Either way, these hadith are very important to understanding why people would leave their homes to go fight for an Islamic State as opposed to mere political freedom for the Syrians.

About one month ago, American journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem interviewed Shaykh Abu Firas [ YouTube.com/watch?v=0RIsR9LXiWU ] , member of Jabha Nusra's Majlis Ashura, regarding his group's stance concerning ISIS

Abu Firas stated that ISIS offered to join forces with al-Nusra, which is often called an offshoot of al-Qaeda. The US State department considers them as Islamic moderates affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The old bearded man said that they do want to establish Islam as the law of the land, that is their goal. However, al-Nusra is not comfortable with ISIS's approach, in particular their decision to declare the Free Syrian Army (FSA) as kuffar or infidels. ISIS leaders told al-Nusra that they would only be willing to work with them if al-Nusra would fight against FSA.

The Shaykh said they could not agree to this because the FSA represents the vast majority of the local Syrian militia groups, most of whom are guarding their own town. FSA is a wide spectrum of people whose common goal is to topple Assad and to defend their homeland. Some of the fighters are sincerely religious Muslims who want to establish Islam as a way of life, while other fighters have a more secular mindset. Many even have family members living in the US. Al-Nusra refused to reject the FSA as allies or to declare them kuffar. This is why the two main Islamic fighting groups are not working together.

October 7, 2015 was a historic day for the FSA. "Let today be the day that it is recorded... The Assad regime with Iranian boots, Hezbollah mercenaries, sectarian militias, and the cover of Russian aerial bombardments.... Could NOT.... advance on the Free Syrian Army in Hama's suburbs....AND....That our freedom fighters were able to destroy 26 tanks (and others).... Seize two tanks a spoils... Take some POW's.... And much more...." was the news circulating on facebook. Other accounts place the number of tanks destroyed at closer to 15.

The Orient News [ YouTube.com/watch?v=wQFJFrx6Sys ] showed very exciting footage of FSA fighters shooting rockets at advancing tanks. One shot, and the tank is completely obliterated. They didn't just topple the tank over. BOOM! The tank is gone. The marksmanship of the fighters is impressively accurate despite the apparent clumsiness of the launching apparatus, while the weapons themselves must be very advanced, to cause such total damage. This is no homemade device. I am told the rockets are supplied by Libya or UAE.

"On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin's fighter jets rocketed an ammunition storehouse, destroying artillery, armored personnel carriers and even tanks belonging to Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, or The Mountain Eagles, a U.S.-backed brigade of the Free Syrian Army," writes Michael Weiss in the Daily Beast.

A video uploaded by the brigade to YouTube shows the burning wreckage of the Russian airstrike, in Mansoura, in the western suburbs of Aleppo, as the local commander known as Abu Mohammed taunts his enemy: "Thank God, we are all fine," says Abu Mohammed. "We don't fear Russia or anyone helping the Russians. Bashar, we will remain resistant fighting you even without any ammunition or bullets. We will fight you with knives. We don't need ammunition, Allahu Akhbar."

Weiss reports also that while the Russian airplanes were targeting Suqour al-Jabal's weapon depots in Aleppo and ISIS attacked the bases with explosives at the same time.

"In the last week, less than 10 percent of all Russian missiles (and now ship-borne cruise missiles) have struck ISIS or al-Qaeda-affiliated targets, according to the U.S. State Department. What is a consensus view among analysts is that ISIS clearly is not Putin's quarry in Syria, at least not yet, because he's too busy killing the anti-Assad rebels supported and armed by the Central Intelligence Agency. U.S. officials have acknowledged as much."

Further complicating things, Russian propaganda is stating that they are bombing ISIS targets when in fact they are bombing areas that are held by FSA. On October 5, 2015 Bilal Abdul Kareem reported [ YouTube.com/watch?v=tXy5vkPKw9g ] on site very close to the Turkish border. His interviewee, a fighter for FSA, said the Russian planes trespassed over Turkish airspace, flying over from the Turkish side before bombing.

Due to smart phones, the front lines of war are being filmed in action and watched online. Lighter videos involve fighters showing off their weapons and their prowess. The darkest documentaries show piles of dead children and total desolation. It remains to be seen if our ability to literally watch a war as it unfolds on the ground will result in anything but personal horror, or if there will be some ability for people to influence events due to their ability to communicate directly with the people involved in wars.

[New Trend comment: Daily Beast is a known anti-Islam publication. The editor of New Trend was subjected to slanderous attacks by the Daily Beast. The attacks were then picked up by all the Zionist media from the New York Times to the Washington Post. Secondly, the claim that some hadith were planted by the "British illuminati" is simply too ridiculous to require a response. Thirdly:The viewpoint of al-Nusra would be acceptable if ISIS' viewpoint were placed next to it. ISIS has set up a Caliphate and the debate should be within that context. Fourthly the FSA's viewpoint that the war is for secularist values must be rejected. Perhaps the conflict originally began for democracy and justice but Bashar Assad drowned the unarmed protests in blood and torture. It is now Jihad all the way. The Islamic resistance is the key to the struggle against Assad.]

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1623.htm

Obituary for a Syrian Journalist

Syria 

Very Young Journalist connected to New Trend Killed in Russian Air strike.
Obituary and last interview. 


Obituary for Mahmoud Alloz 

On October 21, Mahmoud Alloz posted on facebook a photo of his martyred brother Khalid, who was a media activist killed in Russian airstrikes. Mahmoud was interviewed by New Trend on October 23, 2014. That same day in 2015, Mahmoud followed his brother in martyrdom. In commemoration of his life, I present our full interview.

Mahmoud Allouz, born in 1992 in Homs, was a journalist and a former student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (He could not complete an education because of the war). A media activist from the beginning of the revolution, he was killed while covering the front lines of the Free Syrian Army, three days after his brother.

Earlier this year, Mahmoud got a severe head injury from an Assad barrel bomb. He lay in the hospital wearing a headband bearing the Shahada. Miraculously, he lived to return to his media activism, only to be killed by Russia.

Mahmoud Alloz (MA): hi

Karin Friedemann (KF): hi, thank you for your time 

MA: thank you

KF: Are you in Homs right now?

MA: yes

KF: what is the situation like there right now? First of all, is any of the city still standing with life going on, or is it all ruins with fighters running around?

MA: Do you have enough info on the status of Homs ?

KF: I know that it has been a site for protests and that the Syrian government attacked the protesters, since then there was fighting, and the regime bombed a lot if not everything. I do not know the ins and outs of each group who they are what they believe.

MA: Do you have inform the geographical on the nature of Homs? I mean geographical situation and regions of the control of Assad regime and armed opposition and ongoing war?

KF: no, is there a map?

MA: Mediates the Syrian cities, Homs is the capital of the Syrian revolution. Strategic importance of the system is very large.

At the beginning of the revolution protests permeated the city of Homs and its countryside

for example, the campaign the first was on the neighborhood of baba amer even dominated after it was destroyed, and then a vigorous campaign on the Homs the old and the failure of the imposition of the siege which continued to nearly two years

And a military campaign on the southern countryside lasted for several months and got violent battles and dominated by the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah after it was destroyed

KF: thank you

MA: The countryside north of Homs are still under the control of the rebels.

There is Al waer densely populated area and besieged and subjected to daily shelling.

Gets the daily massacres

This is a summary of the situation in the field.

Do you have questions ?

HEZBOLLAH 

KF: Did Hezbollah retreat or are they still active on the ground?

MA: Still is on top of any military campaign

And also present in some areas

KF: they are being paid by Lebanon but answering orders of Assad?

MA: Sorry I did not understand your question

KF: who is paying the Hezbollah? or are they volunteers

MA: Hezbollah works on the orders of the party leadership

KF: why do they want to serve Assad instead of their own country?

MA: hTey want to service their project which is sectarian Shiite

They are Fighting and they brutally destroy and commit crimes

IRAN 

There are fighters from Iran also taking part in the ranks of the Assad regime

KF: why do shiite support alawite

MA: Sorry I did not understand your question

KF: Assad is not Shiite so what are they gaining?

also, do you know anything about opium fields on syria lebanon border? to what extent is the war about drugs, about oil, about land, or what other factors?

MA: Assad, Iran and Hezbollah interests are on one common list on a sectarian basis. Assad is a spoiled child with Iran and Hezbollah

The fall of the Assad regime is the demise of the interests of Iran and Hezbollah from Syria

HAMA 
MA: In the countryside of Hama, there are battles. But the city of Hama is under the control of the Assad regime, and there being many cases of arrests and violations.

[At this point the discussion switches to a photo of a rocket which hit Assad's death squads known as shabeeha near Homs]

Chat Conversation Start

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‎Student طالب جامعي‎

Lives in Homs, Syria

10/25/2014 7:01PM

KF: what is the story of this photo? [photo unknown]

10/25/2014 8:44PM

MA: Unfortunately not be aware of your question

I see a rocket. who is shooting the rocket at whom, and where 

The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the forest

The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the waer

missiles are launched by rebels?

what is the meaning of shabeeha 

Homs Corps is the largest faction of the Free Army in Homs

what are shabeeha gatherings? 

Shabeeha groups of mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the Assad regime, mostly of the Alawite sect, have committed several massacres in Syria and Homs

so they have a camp or where is the missile going to hit 

Rebels firing rockets at gatherings shabeeha in camps and neighborhoods in the occupied city of Homs

did they hit anyone 

What ??

did they destroy anyone or anything or it was just a cute rocket 

Yes, it is destroying the camps that are stationed where the thugs, and thugs fired all kinds of shells toward the neighborhood Al waer

did that stop them or invigorate them to retaliate? 

Shabeeha not stop bombing and criminality, but this is an attempt by the rebels to stop the bombing as much as possible and with available weapons 


http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1629.htm

Unraveling Syria: Many Citizen Militias Fighting Against Assad

Many good people sincerely believe that the Syrian revolution is a CIA-Mossad plot against Bashar Assad, who they think is against Israel. Other well-meaning people are convinced that that ISIS is a CIA-Mossad plot to undermine the legitimacy of the Free Syrian Army.

“95% of ISIS weapons are from Russia who are likewise arming Assad and therefore Russia profits both sides of the engineered conflict,” insisted an FSA supporter. “If FSA was supported by USA - then Assad would be gone, tried and sentenced to death for his war crimes against all of Syria 4 years ago and ISIS would not exist.”

In order to try and clarify the mystery of who’s who in the Syrian war, I talked to Ahmed, a Syrian-American opponent of the regime, whose family members recently fled the country. His family has suffered brutally under the Assad regime for decades.

He wanted me to be aware that the Syrian uprising began after 40 years of oppression. Spontaneously in 2011 some young kids in the south of Syria in the city of Dara wrote “Freedom! Freedom” on a wall. They were arrested by the secret police. One kid’s body was returned to his family after being tortured to death. The other kid was returned alive with his fingers chopped off.

Protests against the government spread throughout the country over the next month. Law enforcement shot live ammunition at demonstrators. Townspeople started gathering to defend the demonstrators with personal arms such as AK-47.

Within six months, low rank Sunni army personnel started mass defections from the military, because they did not want to shoot their own people. The high ranking officers are all Alawite. The ex-military Sunnis turned freedom fighters started gathering and made connections in border areas in Turkey and Jordan. The Syrian border with Turkey is mountainous and there are many villages, which makes it easy to escape. But the border with Iraq is desert and it is very difficult.

There was no Islamic movement the first year of the uprisings. Only small arms were used on both sides. The second year, 2012,  the Assad regime became increasingly unstable and started sending in tanks and doing aerial bombardment of civilian populations. At this point, humanitarian volunteers from Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq started pouring in for emotional and religious reasons. The local population welcomed them on an individual basis. There was no official organization. The people started grouping and making connections in nearby countries where they could travel and visit.

As the movement got bigger, the original freedom fighters who defected from the army went to retire in nearby countries for a number of reasons: There was no financial support for their families, and they were not people of high ideology who want to die for the sake of Islam. Neighboring countries hosted 2000 high ranking Syrian ex-officers to keep as assets to use for future influence, when it appeared the regime would fall. However, these officers cannot leave. They are kept in some kind of camps or living quarters..

Then, the Syrian government asked for help from Iran and Lebanon’s Hizbollah to fight for the Shia. The Syrian government is not Shia. Shia is a sect of Islam. They are Muslims. The Alawite are not Muslims. Historically, France declared Alawites as Shia. But Syria is not Shia.

Many people mistakenly believe that Syria is defending Al-Aqsa, even though on the Israel/Syria border, nobody ever tried to attack Israel. This is Israel’s most stable border, protected by Assad. Iraq is under the influence of Iran. Iran doesn’t want Syria to be Sunni.

At this point, there are hundreds of fighting groups, said Ahmed, who says he truly believes that ISIS was started by foreign agents but lost control “just like the Taliban.” The majority of the leaders of ISIS are high-ranking Iraqi ex-army officials, who used to work for Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi army was the 4th largest army in the world. They are now working with foreign intelligence and serving in ISIS and getting income from foreign countries, plus plunder.

Ahmed said that the majority Syrian population does not want a conservative Islamic state. They are Islamic liberals. They like to have fun. They have no interest in fundamentalism or “radical Islam.” Western injustice and aggression leads to IS politics, he said.

I asked, “When there is no government and everything is destroyed, wouldn’t it be natural for the town to meet at the mosque, and if there is no law, it would be easiest to use Islamic law?”

“People will go back to their natural religion when there is no infrastructure other than the madrasa,” stated Ahmed, who has spent significant time in Afghanistan. However, he did not feel that Syria was anything like Afghanistan. 

In the 1970’s, Wahhabis from Saudi Arabia came to indoctrinate Syrians but people argued against them. Nevertheless, like Bosnia, Syrians will welcome those who help to control Syria and establish order and peace.

Ahmed said the west is pushing Syria to the point where they will say, “Please bring anyone, even another Alawite, to get rid of Assad” to stabilize the region. No matter what, it will take 25-50 years to rebuild the country to what it was.

Regarding the Free Syrian Army, he said there are three kinds: those who gave up and left the country, those who will fight for whoever pays more, and those who are controlled by third parties. He had a higher opinion of al-Nusra, whom he said number in the thousands, not hundreds. The majority of al-Nusra are Syrians not foreign fighters. They have the best fighters. They have good individual support but also have influence with high rank people. Both Saudi Arabia and Jordan try to send their infiltrators to get high ranks to try and get influence or reward.

The “sincere fighters” don’t belong to any big party or private agenda. The majority of Syrian fighters belong to loose small groups. Around Homs and Damascus, in the revolution areas, there could be 15-20 small groups of 100, 200 or 300 militia men for every local area. Some groups make Islamic council and unify with groups like al-Nusra or Ahrar al Sham.

I mentioned the news that Iranian General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria along with six Hizbollah fighters in the Golan Heights. Ahmed said that on that same day, the Syrian opposition shot down a small plane that was filled with high ranking Iranian, Jordanian and Hizbollah officials. He theorized that the media gave Israel credit for the killing in order to downplay the powerful news of the Syrian resistance.

Regarding foreign funding, he mentioned a few weeks back there was a local militia named Hazen that took money from America but then gave it to al-Nusra.

Web of Chaos in Syria

TMO 

Shocking photos have been leaked of the Syrian regime’s 215 Intelligence Branch in Damascus, where detainees are sent to die. Many are summarily executed without any formal charges or military trial.

The Violation Documentation Center in Syria has published satellite photography of the regime’s detention centers near Damascus, documenting the growth of cemeteries and “irregular digging.” The report states that “many of the locals testified about the burying operations that required bulldozers and about the arrival of big refrigerated lorries (fruits and vegetables refrigerator trucks).” This led to the VDC’s confirmation of mass graves.

According to VDC collected eyewitness statements on Assad’s detention centers, “most of the death cases happen almost exclusively in the first ten days of the detention.”

A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman denounced the Iranian regime for siding with Assad, saying, “Iran should remain silent out of shame over its support for Damascus which is the true terrorism,” according to the Anatolia News Agency.

Assad forces and Shiite militias fiercely attacked the al-Waer neighborhood in Homs, in order to control the city last week. Al-Waer neighborhood is currently a haven to more than three hundred thousand civilians. The neighborhood, which is crowded with displaced persons who fled there to escape fighting in other neighborhoods of Homs, is experiencing ongoing fierce shelling after the violent attack a week ago. Al-Waer has become a daily target for the missiles, artillery and explosive barrel bombs from Assad forces and allied sectarian militias. Within 3 days last week, more than 24 civilians were killed, most of them women and children.

The western media is focusing only on “Kobanî,” a Syrian town near the Turkish border where armed Kurds, including many women fighters, are battling against ISIS.

“US air strikes have hit ISIS targets near the town in recent days but do not appear to have stopped the militants’ advance,” reports the Independent.

The Free Syrian Army, which reportedly represents 90% of the rebels against the regime, is also present in Kobani. The FSA is at odds with ISIS as well as the Kurds, who are using this situation to split off and form an independent Kurdistan, while the FSA wants to keep Syria as one nation.

However, activists in Homs, condemning the silence of the international community, insist that “people’s lives in Al-Waer are as precious as those of Kobanî.” The residents of Al-Waer have been suffering under siege for more than a year. The activists insisted that the international community should intervene to save civilians regardless of their race or origins.
TMO interviewed 22 year old Mahmoud Allouz in Homs about the situation. The young man, who identifies with the Free Syrian Army, said that “Homs is the capital of the Syrian revolution.”
He explained that the first neighborhood in Homs to be destroyed in 2011 by Assad was Baba Amr. The military campaign continued for months in the southern countryside. The violent battles were “dominated by the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah after [Baba Amr] was destroyed,” stated Allouz. “They want to serve their project [of] sectarian Shiite fighting. They brutally destroy and commit crimes. There are fighters from Iran who are also taking part in the ranks of the Assad regime.”

Although anti-government rebels fought long and valiantly, as of May 2014, the city of Homs is now completely under control of the government, whose snipers continue to shoot civilians including children in a sadistic manner. For example, some video footage was recently released of a dead or dying person, who was just laying in full view on the road, but because of all the sniper shooting, no one could go collect him. Assad’s soldiers take these videos as trophies to brag about their accomplishments.

Al Waer neighborhood “gets the daily massacres,” said Allouz. However, “The countryside north of Homs is still under the control of the rebels,” he explained.

When asked about the rumored opium fields, Allouz stated that they are located mostly in the middle of Syria and are now under the control of ISIS.

“Who do you think ISIS are?” TMO inquired.

Allouz stated that they are a “takfiri criminal gang” whose murders are “working in favor of the Assad regime.” He observed that ISIS is more interested in fighting other rebels than against the regime. “More [ISIS] battles were against the FSA, trying to control the positions held by FSA and the oil fields and assaults on civilians… They are battling the Free Syrian Army, and slaughtering Syrian civilians as does the Assad regime.”

I asked him, “Do you think ISIS is a local movement or are they foreign employees?”

He answered that the gang is not being paid by any country but is “self-financing” through seizure of oil fields, theft of territory and stealing money. They are “trying to lure poor people with money to join them, placing ideas in their mind” about committing “criminality and murder.”

Al Jazeera however put ISIS into context, reporting this week that Mexican drug cartels have murdered exponentially more people than ISIS including 57 journalists and almost 300 Americans visiting Mexico. They have beheaded hundreds of people and displayed mutilated corpses in public squares and on social media in order to intimidate detractors. It is truly astonishing how Americans are more concerned about criminal gangs in Syria than violence happening next door.