Notes
Introduction
1. United Nations Secretary-General, “Note to Correspondents: Transcript of Press Stakeout by United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura,” United Nations official website, April 22, 2016, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/note-correspondents/2016-04-22/note-correspondents-transcript-press-stakeout-united.
2. Marc Bennetts, “Putin: Syria War Is Priceless for Testing Our New Weapons,” (London) Times, June 8, 2018, www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-syria-war-is-priceless-for-testing-our-new-weapons-qkz3qsdqw.
3. Amnesty International, “Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Saydnaya Prison,” February 7, 2017, www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE2454152017ENGLISH.PDF.
4. Garance le Caisne, “They Were Torturing to Kill: Inside Syria’s Death Machine,” The Guardian, October 1, 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/01/they-were-torturing-to-kill-inside-syrias-death-machine-caesar.
5. Phillip Connor, “Most Displaced Syrians Are in the Middle East, and About a Million Are in Europe,” Pew Research Center, January 29, 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/29/where-displaced-syrians-have-resettled/.
6. Étienne de La Boétie, Discours de la Servitude Volontaire, originally published as Le Contr’un (The Against-One) in Paris in 1576 (Paris: Gaillmard, 2016).
7. Marjorie Miller and John Daniszewski, “Mourners Say Goodbye to Syria’s ‘Lion,’” Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2000, http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jun/14/news/mn-40864.
8. Michel Duclos, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
Chapter 1 You’re Next, Doctor
1. “The Biggest Syrian Flag Flutters from Highest Pole,” DP News, July 7, 2010, accessed February 7, 2016, www.dp-news.com/pages/detail.aspx?articleid=45921. The flag was the idea of Rami Makhlouf, Bashar al-Assad’s cousin and Syria’s most powerful businessman.
2. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, January 2016.
3. Ibid., October 2014.
4. Ibid.
5. Michel Kilo, in discussion with the author, October 2014. “Mr. Michel, do you know what we’ll do if, God forbid, people in Syria take to the streets and demand the regime’s downfall?” a mukhabarat general quizzed Kilo, a sixty-year-old former communist and literary figure who translated the works of German philosophers. He was among those jailed in the early 1980s during Hafez’s reign and a second time in 2006 under Bashar. “You’ll crush the protests,” responded Kilo. “Actually, nothing will be left standing in Syria, not even a stone on top of another—nothing!” said the general.
6. Jay Solomon and Bill Spindle, “Syria Strongman: Time for ‘Reform,’” Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2011.
7. “Excerpts from Mrs. Al-Assad’s Statements,” President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed February 8, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=165&Itemid=487.
8. Omar Abdelaziz Hallaj (former chief executive officer, Syria Trust for Development), in discussion with the author, September 2014.
9. Friend of Assad and Tlass families, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
10. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
11. Ibid.
12. Human Rights Watch, Egypt-Inspired Protests across Middle East Meet Violent Clampdown, February 8, 2011, accessed February 18, 2017, www.hrw.org/news/2011/02/08/egypt-inspired-protests-across-middle-east-meet-violent-clampdown.
13. Shadi Abufakher, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
14. Facebook page for “Toward Popular Mobilization in Syria, Day of Rage February 5, 2011,” accessed February 18, 2016. www.facebook.com/syriarageday25.2.2011/.
15. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
16. “Imad Nasab Recounts Details of What Happened in Hariqa,” Zaman Al Wsl sourced to Al-Watan newspaper, February 22, 2011, accessed February 18, 2017, www.zamanalwsl.net/news/18452.html.
17. Moaz al-Khatib, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
18. “Muammar Gaddafi’s Full Speech,” YouTube video, 1:15:15, posted by “Web7269,” September 19, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfCNfMUgbU4.
19. Kareem Fahim and David Kirkpatrick, “Qaddafi’s Grip on the Capital Tightens as Revolt Grows,” New York Times, February 22, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/world/africa/23libya.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
20. “Muammar Gaddafi’s Full Speech.”
21. Ayham Majid-Agha, in discussion with the author, July 2017. Majid-Agha and others present that day said the mukhabarat mobilized large buses and even a delivery van belonging to Ghrawi, a nearby fancy chocolates boutique, to block access to the Libyan embassy.
22. “Syrians Protest Ghaddafi at Madfaa Square Damascus Feb. 24, 2011,” YouTube video, 4:08, posted by “Syrian Heart,” February 24, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhXzZLhQTYk.
23. Gaelle Raphael, “Al-Shabbi’s ‘The Will To Life,’” Jadaliyya.com, May 1, 2011, http://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/23935/Al-Shabbi%60s-The-Will-to-Life.
24. Khaled al-Khani, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
25. Ibid.
26. Amnesty International, Report from Amnesty International to the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, November 1, 1983, accessed January 25, 2018, www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde24/004/1983/en/.
27. Hama countryside Christian, in discussion with the author, April 2018.
28. Darwish, July 2017.
29. Human Rights Watch, Group Denial: Repression of Kurdish Political and Cultural Rights in Syria, November 2009, accessed February 18, 2017, www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria1109webwcover_0.pdf.
30. Human Rights Watch, Syria: Investigate Security Force Shooting of Kurds, March 26, 2010, accessed February 18, 2017 www.hrw.org/news/2010/03/26/syria-investigate-security-force-shooting-kurds.
31. Darwish, December 2016. Mazen was summoned to the mukhabarat in February 2011. He was quizzed about the timing and date of any possible protests.
32. Souad Jarous, “Assad Issues General Amnesty to Prisoners… Political Prisoners Not Included,” Asharq Al-Awsat, March 8, 2011, http://archive.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=4&issueno=11788&article=611520#.WKh5txhh2T9.
33. Darwish, December 2016.
34. Ibid.
35. “Protest at Ministry of Interior, March 16, 2011,” YouTube video, 1:03, posted by “Zaina Erhaim,” April 1, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMi67_1zU-E.
36. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
37. Tlass family friend who was regularly invited to the mountain house, in discussion with the author, December 2015.
38. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
39. Ayman al-Aswad, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
40. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
Chapter 2 Embracing the Clouds
1. The military academy was founded by the French in 1921 and was based in Damascus until it moved to Homs in 1932. Until 1945, its recruits were from both Lebanon and Syria.
2. Nadine Méouchy, in discussion with the author, March 2018.
3. It was common at the time for well-to-do families in the big Levantine cities like Aleppo, Beirut and Damascus to have a live-in Alawite maid. It was a class-minded society, and Alawites were relegated to the lower rung.
4. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Awal 1948–1958, Al-Nidhal [My Life’s Mirror: The First Decade 1948–1958, The Struggle] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 157. Author’s translation.
5. Ibid., 47.
6. Ibid., 175.
7. The founders were Michel Aflaq, a Greek Orthodox Christian and Salaheddin Bitar, a Sunni Muslim.
8. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Awal 1948–1958, 277. Author’s translation.
9. Mustafa Tlass, interview by Ghassan Charbel, Al-Wasat Magazine, June 19, 2000, 438.
10. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Awal 1948–1958, 283. Author’s translation.
11. Ibid., 285.
12. Ibid., 290.
13. Ben Fenton, “Macmillan Backed Syria Assassination Plot,” The Guardian, September 27, 2003, www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/sep/27/uk.syria1.
14. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Awal 1948–1958, 655. Author’s translation.
15. General CIA Records, “Activities of the Communist Party in Aleppo and Northern Syria,” January 19, 1949, declassified February 2, 1999, accessed January 25, 2018, www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp82-00457r002200580009-9.
16. Patrick Seale, Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), 55. The Makhloufs were members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party which advocated Levantine unity.
17. Ibid., 54.
18. Ibid., 58.
19. “Syria Welcomes Gamal Abdul Nasser—Al-Ayyam, 26 February 1958,” Syrian History website, accessed May 16, 2017, http://syrianhistory.com/en/photos/6242.
20. Burhan Ghalyoun, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
21. Nasser’s man in the Southern Region (Syria) was Abdul-Hamid al-Sarraj, who was appointed interior minister. Many believe Sarraj’s bloody and terroristic methods laid the foundations for the police state later presided over by the Assad family.
22. Hafez al-Assad was assigned to a crop dusting unit, according to Mustafa Tlass’s memoirs.
23. Seale, Asad, 69.
24. Hanna Batatu, The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq (London: Saqi Books, 2004), 801.
25. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, Al-Thawra [My Life’s Mirror: The Second Decade 1958–1968, The Revolution] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 139. Author’s translation.
26. Hazem Saghieh, Al-Baath Al-Souri Tareekh Moujaz [The Syrian Baath: A Brief History] (Beirut: Dar al-Saqi, 2012), 36. Author’s translation.
27. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 303. Author’s translation.
28. Seale, Asad, 77.
29. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 414. Author’s translation.
30. “A Decree Suspending Civil Rights of Those That Betrayed the People’s Cause,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), March 24, 1963.
31. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 423. Author’s translation.
32. Seale, Asad, 82.
33. Farouq al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda [The Missing Story] (Beirut: Arab Center For Research and Policy Studies, 2015), 34. Author’s translation.
34. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 433. Author’s translation.
35. Ibid.
36. Saghieh, Al-Baath Al-Souri Tareekh Moujaz, 42. Author’s translation.
37. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 467. Author’s translation.
38. Raphael Lefèvre, Ashes of Hama: The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria (London: Hurst & Company, 2013), 100.
39. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 480. Author’s translation.
40. Ibid., 485.
41. Ibid., 488.
42. Seale, Asad, 102.
43. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 631. Author’s translation.
44. Saghieh, Al-Baath Al-Souri, 49. Author’s translation.
45. In official Arab media, Israel’s 1967 land gains were portrayed as the naksa, or setback.
46. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, 840. Author’s translation.
47. Ibid., 842.
48. “The Syrian Baath Party as Seen by Abu-Saleh, Part 8,” Al Jazeera Arabic website, last accessed November 7, 2018, www.aljazeera.net/programs/centurywitness/2005/1/10/
49. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thaleth 1968–1978, Al-Zilzal [My Life’s Mirror: The Third Decade 1968–1978, The Earthquake] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 54. Author’s translation.
50. Mustafa Tlass, interview with RT (Russia Today), YouTube video, 26:06, posted by “RT Arabic,” July 13, 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKmlE_xOkdM.
51. General CIA Records, Intelligence Memorandum: Communist Economic and Military Aid to Syria, July 1, 1972, declassified January 18, 2011, accessed January 26 2018, www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp85t00875r001700030111-4.
52. Abdul-Halim Khaddam, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
53. Al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda, 41. Author’s translation.
54. The World Bank, Syrian Arab Republic Development Prospects and Policies: Report of a 1977 World Bank Mission, Vol. II—The Main Report, 4, accessed May 17, 2017, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/569411468120843337/pdf/multi-page.pdf.
55. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thaleth 1968–1978, 444. Author’s translation.
56. Ibid., 445.
57. “Gaddafi Makes a Declaration in Damascus,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), November 18, 1970.
Chapter 3 Embracing the Clouds
1. This was the flag adopted by the Federation of Arab Republics, an attempted but never consummated union of Egypt, Libya, and Syria in the early 1970s.
2. “The President Leader Kisses the Cherished Flag and Raises It to Flutter High in the Sky of Quneitra,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), June 27, 1974.
3. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2016.
4. “Three Hundred Journalists were in Quneitra,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), June 27, 1974.
5. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
6. “Our Masses Live the Joy of Liberation,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), June 28, 1974.
7. National Security Archive, “The October War and US Policy,” October 7, 2003, accessed February 21, 2017, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/#III.
8. Lakhdar Brahimi, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
9. Ghassan Salamé, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
10. “President Hafez al-Assad Complete October 6 War Speech,” YouTube video, 8:31, posted by “ArbsTb,” October 6, 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmbMKs7eQtg.
11. Walter Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992), 544.
12. Library of Congress, Cable to General Scowcroft from Secretary Kissinger, May 22, 1974, declassified December 4, 2009, accessed January 26, 2018 www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/loc-hak-260-2-56-9.
13. Isaacson, Kissinger, 566–68.
14. James F. Clarity, “US and Syrians to Reestablish Diplomatic Ties,” New York Times, June 17, 1974, www.nytimes.com/1974/06/17/archives/us-and-syrians-to-reestablish-diplomatic-ties-nixon-and-assad.html?_r=0.
15. Salamé, November 2016.
16. “Syria My Beloved—The Original and Complete Version,” YouTube video, 3:29, posted by “phmohanad,” November 26, 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKli72vTPmE.
17. Burhan Ghalyoun, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
18. Ibid.
19. “The President and Prime Minister Perform Prayers at the Umayyad Mosque,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), December 1, 1970.
20. Michel Seurat, Syrie L’État de Barbarie [Syria the Barbaric State], (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France), 29.
21. Syrian Arab Republic People’s Assembly, Legislative Decree 23, “Establishing the Revolutionary Youth Union,” January 1, 1970, http://parliament.gov.sy/laws/Decree/00014191.tif.
22. Baath Vanguards website, accessed May 16, 2017, www.syrianpioneers.org.sy/node/5.
23. General CIA Records, Intelligence Memorandum—Communist Economic and Military Aid to Syria, July 1, 1972, declassified January 18, 2011, accessed January 26 2018, www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp85t00875r001700030111-4.
24. “A Flood in Baath Country,” 2003 Film by Omar Amiralay Produced by AMIP-Arte France, YouTube video, 46:14, posted by “AinOuzon,” September 1, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9a9pPZTwmc.
25. Bashar al-Assad classmate at Laïque School, in discussion with the author, October 2017.
26. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
27. “Laïque: A History Briefing of the Institute,” website of Laïque School Class of 1978, accessed May 17, 2017, www.laique78.com/ehistory.htm.
28. Former Laïque School student, in discussion with the author on condition of anonymity, January 2017.
29. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
30. Bashar al-Assad childhood friend, in discussion with the author, October 2017. The house was owned by Rashad Pharaon, a Damascene physician who became the personal doctor of Saudi Arabia’s first monarch and was given Saudi citizenship and later made health minister. Like other Levantine protégés of the Saudi royals, the Pharaons amassed a great fortune. Decades later, Pharaon’s son was sought by US authorities in connection with one of the largest bank frauds in history.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
37. Rana Kabbani, in discussion with the author, March 2017.
38. Tlass family friend, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
39. Ibid.
40. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thani 1958–1968, Al-Thawra [My Life’s Mirror: The Second Decade 1958–1968, The Revolution] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 519. Author’s translation.
41. Tlass family friend, December 2016.
42. Naomi Joy Weinberger, Syrian Intervention in Lebanon: The 1975–1976 Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), 25.
43. Ibid., 15.
44. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
45. Weinberger, Syrian Intervention in Lebanon: The 1975–1976 Civil War, 293.
46. Jeremy M. Sharp, Syria: Background and US Relations, special report for Congress, Congressional Research Service, May 1, 2008, 25.
47. Patrick Seale, Asad: The Struggle for The Middle East (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), 289.
48. Raphael Lefèvre, Ashes of Hama: The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria (London: Hurst & Company, 2013), 103.
49. Ibid., 97.
50. US Embassy in Damascus, “SARG Prepares Political Response to Worsening Economic Crisis,” US State Department cable, June 13, 1977, released by WikiLeaks, declassified by State Department May 22, 2009, accessed May 17, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1977DAMASC03699_c.html.
51. Jonathan Randal, “Assad Acts to Restore Image Shaken by Corruption, Unrest,” Washington Post, September 23, 1977, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/09/23/assad-acts-to-restore-image-shaken-by-corruption-unrest/1217b939-7a56-4fbc-999f-0baaf6a9de40/?utm_term=.58492e95225c.
52. Paul Maler (Michel Seurat), “La Société Syrienne Contre Son État” [“Syrian Society Against Its State”], Le Monde Diplomatique, April 1980.
53. “Martyrdom of Comrade Doctor Ibrahim Naama,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), March 19, 1978.
54. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2: The Great Repression 1976–1982, Sepember 1990, accessed on Internet Archive, https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_N-xjxWYWnlwC/bub_gb_N-xjxWYWnlwC_djvu.txt.
55. “Vague d’Agitation Confessionnelle en Syrie” [“Wave of Sectarian Trouble in Syria”], Le Monde Diplomatique, October 1979.
56. Lefèvre, Ashes of Hama, 107.
57. US Embassy in Damascus, “Hussein-Assad Meeting: Muslim Brotherhood and Internal Syrian Problems,” US State Department cable, July 23, 1979, released by WikiLeaks, declassified by State Department March 20, 2014, accessed May 18, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1979DAMASC04856_e.html.
58. “Vague d’Agitation Confessionnelle en Syrie.”
59. Ibid.
60. US Embassy in Damascus, “Prospects for Assad’s Survival,” US State Department cable, September 16, 1979, released by WikiLeaks, declassified by the State Department March 20, 2014, accessed May 18, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1979DAMASC06042_e.html.
61. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
62. Bashar al-Assad childhood friend, in discussion with the author, October 2017.
63. Ibid. Manaf Tlass also confirmed the story of Abu Subaih, who was the driver of Adnan al-Dabbagh, the interior minister at the time. Bashar was friends with Dabbagh’s children and often rode with them when they were driven around by Abu Subaih. Dabbagh was married to the aunt of Bashar’s future wife Asma al-Akhras.
64. “Saddam,” YouTube video, 37:51, posted by “Baynetna Tube,” uploaded November 20, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQkBkzDdrsA.
65. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Rabe(‘ayn) 1978–1988, Al-Sumoud [My Life’s Mirror: The Fourth Decade 1978–1988, Perseverance] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 450.
66. Ibid., 452.
67. US Embassy in Damascus, “Syria’s Stability—Political Reporting,” US State Department cable, May 23, 1979, released by WikiLeaks, declassified by State Department March 20, 2014, accessed May 18, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1979DAMASC03383_e.html.
68. The Syrian Human Rights Committee, “Rifaat al-Assad’s Speech at the Seventh Regional Congress of the Arab Socialist Baath Party,” accessed May 18, 2017, http://www.shrc.org/?p=7462.
69. Mohammad Farouk Tayfour, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
70. Seurat, Syrie L’État de Barbarie, 95–96.
71. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
72. The American Presidency Project, “Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States: 1977–1981, Meeting with President Hafiz al-Asad of Syria, Remarks of the President and President Asad Prior to Their Meeting,” May 9, 1977, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=7488.
73. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria—Chapter 2.
74. Ibid.
75. Hafez al-Assad, “Mr. President Hafez al-Assad’s Opening Remarks at the Emergency Meeting of the Confederation of Handicraftsmen Unions,” March 11, 1980, President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed May 18, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=518:11-3-1980&catid=262&Itemid=493.
76. Hafez al-Assad, “Mr. President Hafez al-Assad’s Speech at the Extraordinary Fourth Congress of the Confederation of Farmer Unions,” March 10, 1980, President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed May 18, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=665:10-3-1980&catid=213&Itemid=476.
77. Hafez al-Assad, “Mr. President Hafez al-Assad’s Speech at the Extraordinary Conference of the National Students of Syria Union,” March 17, 1980, President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed May 18, 2017, http://www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=521:17-3-1980&catid=262&Itemid=493.
78. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
79. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2.
80. Amnesty International, Report from Amnesty International to the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, November 1, 1983, accessed January 25, 2018, www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde24/004/1983/en/.
81. Ibid.
82. Farouq al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda [The Missing Story] (Beirut: Arab Center For Research and Policy Studies, 2015), 63. Author’s translation.
83. Seurat, Syrie L’État de Barbarie, 100.
84. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
85. Anwar al-Buni, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
86. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
87. Bashar al-Assad classmate at Laïque School, in discussion with the author, October 2017.
88. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
89. Hafez al-Assad, “President Hafez al-Assad’s Remarks at the Graduation Ceremony of the Youth Knights,” November 7, 1980, President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed May 18, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=533:7-11-1980&catid=262&Itemid=493.
90. “From the Training of the Parachutist Knights in Syria,” YouTube video, 3:33, posted by “Fursansouria,” February 1, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOeZW1wDPwo.
91. Khaled Khoja, in discussion with the author, August 2017. Khoja, who was born the same year as Bashar al-Assad, was a teenager when he was arrested in 1980 and again in 1981 because of the political activities of his father, a physician, and other family members. Khaled Khoja would later become one of the leaders of the main Syrian opposition body that emerged after the 2011 revolt against Bashar.
92. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2.
93. Associated Press, “Bomb Explosion in Syria Kills 64 Hurts 135 in Crowded Area,” New York Times, November 30, 1981, www.nytimes.com/1981/11/30/world/bomb-explosion-in-syria-kills-64-and-hurts-135-in-crowded-area.html.
94. Christian Chesnot and George Malbrunot, Les Chemins De Damas [The Roads of Damascus] (Paris: Editions Robert Laffont, 2014), 22–23.
95. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2.
96. Susanne Koelbl, “A 101 Course in Mideast Dictatorships,” Der Spiegel, August 8, 2005, www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/syria-a-101-course-in-mideast-dictatorships-a-343242.html.
97. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
98. General CIA Records, “Monthly Warning Meeting—February 1982,” February 22, 1982, declassified May 17, 2007, last accessed January 26, 2018, www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP83B01027R000300040040-0.pdf.
Chapter 4 Golden Knight
1. Farouq al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda [The Missing Story] (Beirut: Arab Center For Research and Policy Studies, 2015), 101. Author’s translation.
2. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2016.
3. Ibid.
4. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Rabee 1978–1988, Al-Sumoud [My Life’s Mirror: The Fourth Decade 1978–1988, Perseverance] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 388. Author’s translation.
5. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Thaleth 1968–1978, Al-Zilzal [My Life’s Mirror: The Third Decade 1968–1978, The Earthquake] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 472. Author’s translation.
6. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
7. Ibid, December 2018.
8. Ibid, October 2016.
9. Ibid.
10. Al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda, 108. Author’s translation.
11. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
12. Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Rabe(‘ayn) 1978–1988, Al-Sumoud, 392. Author’s translation.
13. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
14. Ibid., November 2016.
15. Tlass family friend, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
16. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
17. Ibid., October 2016
18. Ariane Chemin, “Les Diners de Madame Ojjeh” [“The Dinners of Madame Ojjeh”], Le Monde, October 2, 2006, www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2006/10/02/les-diners-de-madame-ojjeh_819062_3208.html.
19. Michel Abu-Najem, “Al-Wasat Speaks to Nahed Tlass Ojjeh, Who Has Caused a Political Storm in France,” Al-Wasat, May 31, 1993, 70.
20. Michael Dobbs, “Mitterrand, Assad End Talks with Assurances on Terrorism,” Washington Post, November 29, 1984, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/11/29/mitterrand-assad-end-talks-with-assurances-on-terrorism/2ea0bc1d-31d9-4333-b230-07d8d8ec8939/?utm_term=.e091849190ce.
21. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
22. Michel Duclos, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
23. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
24. Ronald Koven, “Prominent Enemy of Syria’s Assad Is Slain in Paris,” Washington Post, July 22, 1980, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/07/22/prominent-enemy-of-syrias-assad-is-slain-in-paris/03d0ff98-33a5-4c84-9fe8-a3b0b3df0851/?utm_term=.5c8dce1f5d55.
25. Raphael Lefèvre, Ashes of Hama: The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria (London: Hurst & Company, 2013), 113.
26. Pierre Marion, interview with Le Nouvel Observateur by Serge Raffy, September 12, 1986, http://referentiel.nouvelobs.com/archives_pdf/OBS1140_19860912/OBS1140_19860912_042.pdf.
27. Christian Chesnot and George Malbrunot, Les Chemins De Damas [The Roads of Damascus] (Paris: Editions Robert Laffont, 2014), 20–22.
28. Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 446–47.
29. Ibid., 530.
30. Jane Mayer, “Ronald Reagan’s Benghazi,” The New Yorker, May 5, 2014, http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/ronald-reagans-benghazi.
31. Mustafa Tlass, interview with Der Spiegel, translated by Edna McCown, New York Review of Books 31, no. 18, November 22, 1984, www.nybooks.com/articles/1984/11/22/war-of-liberation-a-talk-with-the-syrian-defense-m/.
32. US State Department, Country Reports on Terrorism 2013, accessed May 20, 2017, www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224829.htm.
33. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
34. Duclos, November 2016.
35. Chesnot and Malbrunot, Les Chemins De Damas, 24.
36. General CIA Records, “Codel Tower’s Conversation with Syrian President Assad Feb 21—Full Memcon,” February 22, 1984, declassified November 19, 2010, accessed January 26, 2018, www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90b01370r000801030002-8.
37. Mustafa Tlass, interview with Der Spiegel.
38. Tlass family friend, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
39. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
40. Many Defense Company officers, almost all Alawite, followed Rifaat al-Assad into exile but the majority joined a new army division (The Fourth Division) that was later commanded by Hafez al-Assad’s youngest son, Maher.
41. US Embassy in Damascus, “The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood,” US State Department cable, February 26, 1985, released by WikiLeaks, classified Secret by State Department, accessed May 18, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/85DAMASCUS1314_a.html.
42. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
43. Defected Syrian army officer from Al-Rastan, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
44. Abdul-Halim Khaddam, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
45. “Opening Ceremony of the Tenth Mediterranean Games in Latakia, Syria, 1987,” YouTube video, 3:38:43, from broadcast by Syrian state television on September 11, 1987, posted by “Sadik Awikeh,” January 17, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOR1GGnMzLw.
46. “The Martyred Knight Bassel al-Assad in a Rare Clip,” YouTube video, 1:59, from broadcast by Syrian state television in September 1987, posted by “Qais Sultanah,” January 23, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z9aAe9XvXA.
47. Bassel al-Assad friend, in discussion with the author on condition of anonymity, January 2017.
48. Ibid.
49. Bashar al-Assad’s high school friend, in discussion with the author, October 2017.
50. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
51. Former regime official, in discussion with the author on condition of anonymity, March 2017.
52. Former Bassel al-Assad assistant, in discussion with the author on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal by the Assad family, December 2016.
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid.
55. Ammar Abd Rabbo, in discussion with the author, October 2016.
56. Dmitri Trenin, “The Mythical Alliance: Russia’s Syria Policy,” Carnegie Moscow Center, February 12, 2013.
57. Andrew Rosenthal, “Mideast Tensions; Bush Says Syria Supports the Use of Force on Iraq,” New York Times, November 24, 1990, www.nytimes.com/1990/11/24/world/mideast-tensions-bush-says-syria-supports-the-use-of-force-on-iraq.html.
58. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch World Report 1989, January 1990, accessed January 27, 2018, www.hrw.org/reports/1989/WR89/Syria.htm#TopOfPage.
59. World Bank Databank, data.worldbank.org, accessed on January 26, 2018, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG?locations=SY&view=chart.
60. Abdallah al-Dardari, in discussion with the author, February 2017. Dardari later became planning minister under Bashar.
61. Nadine Picaudou, “La Syrie Ne Renonce Pas à Ses Ambitions Régionales” [“Syria Is Not Renouncing Its Regional Ambitions”), Le Monde Diplomatique, December 1992, www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1992/12/PICAUDOU/44873.
62. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
63. Ibid, December 2018.
64. Ibid.
65. Ibid.
66. “Mysterious Endings, Mahmoud al-Zoabi,” YouTube Video, 48:49, Al Jazeera documentary, posted by “Al Jazeera Arabic,” December 10, 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ftnkMar1A.
67. American Presidency Project, “William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, 1993–2001—The President’s News Conference with President Hafiz al-Asad of Syria in Geneva,” January 16, 1994, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=50132.
68. Al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda, 302.
69. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
70. Stephen Kinzer, “Ex–East German Agent Guilty in Terror Bombing,” New York Times, April 12, 1994, www.nytimes.com/1994/04/12/world/ex-east-german-agent-guilty-in-terror-bombing.html.
71. Al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda, 303. Author’s translation.
72. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
73. “Bassel Beloved of the Millions,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), January 22, 1994.
74. “The Martyr Bassel al-Assad and the Eternal Leader’s Eulogy,” YouTube video, 1:23, from broadcast by Syrian state television, posted by “samidoonsyrians,” May 20, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcij0xbPm28.
Chapter 5 To Whom the Horses after You, Bassel?
1. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2016.
2. Wafic Saïd, in discussion with the author, April 2017.
3. Bashar al-Assad friend, in discussion with the author, October 2017.
4. Maarouf family relative, in discussion with the author, February 2018.
5. Bashar al-Assad friend, October 2017.
6. Bachar El-Assad, Le Pouvoir ou La Mort [Bashar al-Assad, Power or Death], documentary film by Christophe Widemann for France 2 Channel, 120:00, December 12, 2017.
7. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
8. “Bashar al-Assad at the Funeral of His Brother Bassel, January 1994,” Syrian History website, accessed May 20, 2017, www.syrianhistory.com/en/photos/6307.
9. Bahjat Suleiman, “Why Is Bassel the Role Model and Bashar the Hope?” Aleppo Economics magazine, January 1, 1997, posted by All4Syria.info website, accessed May 20, 2017, www.all4syria.info/newcd/articles_president/althawra.html.
10. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
11. Ibid.
12. Tlass family friend, in discussion with the author, December 2015.
13. Walid Jumblatt, in discussion with the author, November 2014.
14. Khaled Khoja, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
15. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
16. “New Hospitals in the Provinces Named After the Nation’s Deceased,” Al-Baath (Damascus, Syria), February 1, 1994.
17. Former Bassel al-Assad assistant, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
18. Editorial, “Bashar Al-Assad: The Difficult Challenge,” Addiyar newspaper (Beirut, Lebanon), April 22, 1995.
19. Ammar Abd Rabbo, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
20. Ibrahim Hamidi, “Two Prominent Dossiers: Lebanon and the Fight against Corruption, Major Bashar al-Assad Breaks into Politics,” Al-Wasat magazine, May 1, 1995, 170.
21. Former regime official, in discussion with the author on condition of anonymity, March 2017.
22. Malek Mrowa, in discussion with the author, March 2017. Others said some Lebanese politicians, who were diehard Assad family loyalists, continued the practice even after the Syrian army left Lebanon in 2005. A medic at a private Beirut hospital recounted witnessing a Lebanese member of parliament kiss the hand of Bashar’s father-figure mentor and adviser, Mohammad Nasif, as he lay on his deathbed in the spring of 2015.
23. Steve Coll, The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (New York: The Penguin Press, 2008), 440.
24. Abdul-Halim Khaddam, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
25. Ibid.
26. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
27. Former Bashar al-Assad friend, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
28. Tlass family friend, December 2015.
29. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
30. Former Bashar al-Assad friend, January 2017.
31. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
32. Former aide of Bassel al-Assad, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
33. Former Syrian Computer Society associate of Bashar al-Assad, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
34. Ghassan Salamé, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
35. Serge Halimi, “Memoires du President Chirac” [“President Chirac’s Memoirs”], Le Monde Diplomatique, November 2011, www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2011/11/HALIMI/46916.
36. Ibid.
37. Bashar al-Assad, interview by Ghassan Charbel, Al-Wasat magazine, August 23, 1999, 395.
38. “Mohammad Bin Rashed Visits Jabal Ali Zone 1999,” YouTube video, 1:33, posted by “HH Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum Official Channel,” January 30, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXgaDw_xOZU. Manaf Tlass in Bashar’s entourage.
39. Bassam Haddad, Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012), 89.
40. Tlass family friend, in discussion with the author, December 2015.
41. Ibrahim Hamidi, “When the Police Chief Knocked on the Door of the Former Prime Minister He Fired a Shot in the Air and a Second One in His Mouth,” Al-Hayat, May 23, 2000, http://daharchives.alhayat.com/issue_archive/Hayat%20INT/2000/5/23/
.html.
42. Khaddam, November 2016.
43. Barbara Plett, “Attack Renews Syrian Family Feud,” BBC News website, October 22, 1999, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/482938.stm.
44. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
45. Former regime official, in discussion with the author, March 2017.
46. Manaf Tlass, December 2018. On paper, Maher al-Assad was a major in the army’s Fourth Division but in reality he was de facto commander of the whole unit, which when established absorbed most members of Rifaat al-Assad’s paramilitary group (Saraya al-Difaa, The Defense Companies) after it was disbanded by Hafez al-Assad.
47. Jean-Pierre Perrin, “La Famille Assad S’Entre-Dechire” [“The Assad Family Tears Itself Apart”], Libération, November 29, 1999, www.liberation.fr/planete/1999/11/29/la-famille-assad-s-entre-dechire-le-gendre-du-president-syrien-blesse-par-son-beau-frere-hospitalise_288112.
Chapter 6 New King and Early Spring
1. Farouq al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda [The Missing Story] (Beirut: Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, 2015), 456. Author’s translation.
2. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, December 2018. Manaf recalled how Hafez al-Assad had concentration and memory problems during his last meeting with Bill Clinton in March 2000.
3. Al-Sharaa, Al-Riwaya al-Mafqouda, 457. Author’s translation.
4. Ibid.
5. Abdul-Halim Khaddam, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
6. Mustafa Tlass, interview by Hiyam Ali and Ali Mahmoud Jadid from Syriasteps website, posted on the Golan website, June 11, 2010, www.jawlan.org/openions/read_article.asp?catigory=188&source=6&link=3173.
7. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Tlass family friend, in discussion with the author, December 2017.
11. Ibid.
12. “Announcement of Hafez al-Assad’s Death on Syrian Television,” YouTube video, 4:41, posted by “Malath Alzoubi,” June 9, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BptINo5JBmI.
13. Khaled al-Khani, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
14. “Funeral of the Eternal Leader Hafez al-Assad, Part One,” YouTube video, 1:00:32, from broadcast by Tele Liban, June 2000, posted by “Tartous TV,” November 20, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG2o_c87How.
15. Malek Mrowa, in discussion with the author, March 2017.
16. Ibid.
17. Cards seen by the author.
18. “Funeral of the Eternal Leader Hafez al-Assad, Part Two,” YouTube video, 1:00:36, from broadcast by Tele Liban, June 2000, posted by “Tartous TV,” November 20, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_dIIZips-g.
19. Marjorie Miller and John Daniszewski, “Mourners Say Goodbye to Syria’s ‘Lion,’” Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2000, http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jun/14/news/mn-40864.
20. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
21. Associated Press, “French Rain Shells and Bombs on Syrians in Damascus,” Chicago Tribune, May 31, 1945, http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1945/05/31/page/1/article/french-rain-shells-and-bombs-on-syrians-in-damascus/.
22. “Mr. President Bashar al-Assad’s Speech at the People’s Assembly after Taking the Oath of Office,” YouTube video, 1:04:14, broadcast by Syrian Radio and Television on July 17, 2000, posted by “Syria RTV,” July 10, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsNwHs9B6RI.
23. Ibid.
24. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
25. “Saudi Crown Prince Goes to Syria,” Kuwait News Agency, July 18, 2000, accessed May 20, 2017, www.kuna.net.kw/ArticlePrintPage.aspx?id=1098103&language=ar.
26. Wafic Saïd, in discussion with the author, April 2017.
27. Philippe Quillerier-Lesieur, “Jacques Chirac a Damas” [“Jacques Chirac in Damascus”], RFI (Radio France Internationale website), June 13, 2000, www1.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/006/article_2803.asp.
28. Former friend of Bashar al-Assad, in discussion with the author, October 2017.
29. Ibid.
30. A friend of the Akhras family, in discussion with the author, December 2015.
31. “President Assad’s Wedding,” YouTube video, 1:00, posted by “Al-Naser Qadem Min Halab,” December 11, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScDeLd9ByLA.
32. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
33. Peter Beaumont, “From Schoolgirl Emma to Asma, the Syrian Icon,” The Observer, December 12, 2002, posted on President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed May 20, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=881:from-school-emma-to-asma-the-observer-december-15-2002&catid=164&Itemid=477.
34. Damascus native, in discussion with the author, February 2017.
35. Lebanese political figure, in discussion with the author on condition of anonymity, April 2017.
36. Samir Kassir, Demoqratiyat Souriya Wa Istiklal Lubnan [Syria’s Democracy and Lebanon’s Independence] (Beirut: Annahar Publishing House, 2004), Appendix, 209.
37. Burhan Ghalyoun, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
38. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
39. Brian Whitaker, “Syria to Free 600 Political Prisoners,” The Guardian, November 17, 2000, www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/17/brianwhitaker.
40. Kassir, Demoqratiyat Souriya Wa Istiklal Lubnan, Appendix, 212.
41. Manaf Tlass, October 2016.
42. Six months after Bashar came to power, Assef Shawkat arrested and imprisoned Ahmed Abboud, a retired but still influential Alawite general. Abboud’s daughter was married to one of the sons of Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar’s banished uncle.
43. Manaf Tlass, December 2018. Besides Assef, Bashar acquired two more brothers-in-law after his marriage to Asma. Asma had two siblings, both male.
44. Ibrahim Hamidi, “In the First Official Reaction… Omran Criticizes Civil Society Advocates,” Al-Hayat, January 1, 2001, http://daharchives.alhayat.com/issue_archive/Hayat%20INT/2001/1/30
html. The Syrian regime was closely following the case of Saadeddin Ibrahim, a dual Egyptian-American citizen and sociology professor and political activist, who was jailed in Egypt in 2000 on charges of receiving funds from the European Union for his Ibn Khaldun Center for Developmental Studies.
45. “The Attack on Nabil Suleiman: Message to Syrian Intellectuals?” Al-Wasat magazine, February 12, 2000, 472.
46. Bashar al-Assad, Interview by Asharq al-Awsat translated by Al-Bab, Al-Bab website, February 6, 2001, http://al-bab.com/documents-section/interview-president-bashar-al-assad#POLITICAL.
47. Ghalyoun, November 2016.
48. “Riad Turk Challenges the Syrian Regime from Damascus,” YouTube video, 1:54, posted by “freesyrianyouth,” September 26, 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G1bk1HsSoI.
49. Riad Seif, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
50. Ghalyoun, November 2016.
51. Darwish, December 2016.
52. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
53. Peter Ford, “Europe Cringes at Bush ‘Crusade’ against Terrorists,” Christian Science Monitor, September 19, 2001, www.csmonitor.com/2001/0919/p12s2-woeu.html.
54. Seymour Hersh, “The Syrian Bet,” The New Yorker, July 23, 2003, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/07/28/the-syrian-bet.
55. Manaf Tlass, December 2018. “Bashar essentially told the Americans ‘I want to collaborate in fighting terrorism in return for safeguarding my rule,’” said Manaf.
56. Ibid., October 2014.
57. Ibid.
58. Ibid.
59. Former Syrian envoy to Iraq Noureddin Labbad, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
60. US Central Intelligence Agency, “The Procurement of Conventional Military Goods in Breach of UN Sanctions,” posted on CIA website April 23, 2007, accessed May 20 2017, www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd_2004/chap2_annxJ.html.
61. “The Operation to Capture the Three Zionist Soldiers on October, 7, 2000,” Hezbollah’s official website, accessed May 20, 2017. https://www.moqawama.org/essaydetails.php?eid=4571&cid=161
62. Bashar al-Assad, Speech at the Arab League Summit in Beirut, March 27, 2002, President Bashar al-Assad official website, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=960:27-2002&catid=294&Itemid=469.
63. Linda Grant, “The Hate That Will Not Die,” The Guardian, December 18, 2001, www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/18/september11.israel.
64. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
65. Ibid., December 2018. Manaf witnessed the spectacle in Qurdaha. The men were from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), which was founded by a Lebanese Christian and is dedicated to the principle of establishing Greater Syria, an area that includes Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and southeastern Turkey. Bashar’s maternal cousins the Makhloufs are prominent and active backers of the SSNP. The party’s symbol resembles a swastika in circular motion.
66. Ibid., October 2014.
67. Ghassan Salamé, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
68. Flynt Leverett, Inheriting Syria: Bashar’s Trial by Fire (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2005), 143.
69. Amnesty International, “Charges Filed against Syrian Official for Torture of Maher Arar Survivor of Rendition in US War on Terror,” press release, September 1, 2015, www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/charges-filed-against-syrian-official-for-torture-of-maher-arar-survivor-of-rendition-in-us-war-on-terror/.
70. Colin L. Powell, “On the Record Briefing en Route to Damascus, Syria,” May 2, 2003, US Department of State Archive website, accessed May 20, 2017, https://2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/remarks/2003/20156.htm.
71. Leverett, Inheriting Syria, 126–27.
72. Ibid.
73. “Syria’s Mufti Calls for Martyrdom Operations Against the Invaders,” Al Jazeera Arabic website, March 27, 2003, last accessed on December 25, 2018, https://www.aljazeera.net/news/arabic/2003/3/27/
.
74. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
75. Darwish, December 2016.
76. Al-Khani, October 2014.
77. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
78. Tlass family friend, in discussion with the author, December 2015.
79. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
80. Tlass family friend, December 2015.
81. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
82. Ibid.
83. Bernard Pêcheur, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
84. Ibid.
85. Beaumont, “From Schoolgirl Emma to Asma.”
86. “The Assad and Chirac Families at the Élysée Palace in Paris—June 25, 2011,” Syrian History website, accessed May 21, 2017, http://syrianhistory.com/en/photos/3684.
87. “Syrian President Meets Queen,” The Telegraph, December 17, 2002, accessed May 21, 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1416391/Syrian-president-meets-the-Queen.html.
88. “Paris: Visite de Bachar el Assad Perturbée” [“Paris: Bashar al-Assad’s Visit Disturbed”], Ina.fr video, 02:07, from original broadcast by France 2 television channel, June 26, 2001, www.ina.fr/video/CAB01027711.
89. Alan Philps, “Assad Accuses Israel of Being More Racist than the Nazis,” The Telegraph, March 28, 2001, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/1328194/Assad-accuses-Israel-of-being-more-racist-than-the-Nazis.html.
90. Clyde Haberman, “The World: Assad Greets the Pope; Welcome, Man of Peace. Let’s Go Hate My Enemy,” New York Times, May 13, 2001, www.nytimes.com/2001/05/13/weekinreview/the-world-assad-greets-the-pope-welcome-man-of-peace-let-s-go-hate-my-enemy.html.
91. Michel Duclos, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
92. Detlev Mehlis, “Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1595 (2005),” October 19, 2005, 8, United Nations official website, accessed May 21, 2017, www.un.org/news/dh/docs/mehlisreport.pdf.
93. Bashar al-Assad, Conference of the Syrian Diaspora in Damascus, October 9, 2004, posted on President Bashar-al Assad official website, last accessed May 21, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=974:9-2004&catid=296&Itemid=469.
94. Khaddam, December 2016.
95. “Hariri to Muallem in Recording: I Can No Longer Take It,” Al-Hayat, May 7, 2015, accessed May 21, 2017, http://www.alhayat.com/Articles/9042748/
96. Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times Magazine, February 10, 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0.
97. The immediate aftermath of the bombing was witnessed by the author.
Chapter 7 Hit Them Where It Hurts
1. Hassan M. Fattah, “A Leading Syrian Minister Dies, Apparently a Suicide,” New York Times, October 13, 2005, www.nytimes.com/2005/10/13/world/middleeast/a-leading-syrian-minister-dies-apparently-a-suicide.html.
2. Abdul-Halim Khaddam, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
3. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, December 2018. Tensions between Bashar and Kanaan had been mounting before Hariri’s assassination, according to Manaf. “Kanaan acted like God in Lebanon and then he came back to Syria and tried to forge a place for himself in the power orbit around Bashar,” said Manaf. “Bashar started to get jealous of him and wanted to clip his wings.”
4. “US Recalls Ambassador to Syria,” press statement by spokesman Richard Boucher, US State Department, February 15, 2005, https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2005/42305.htm.
5. Detlev Mehlis, “Report of the International Independent Investigation Commission Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1595 (2005),” October 19, 2005, 53, United Nations official website, accessed May 21, 2017, www.un.org/news/dh/docs/mehlisreport.pdf.
6. Andrew Tabler, “How to Deal with Syria: Find Out Who Is in Charge,” Institute of Current World Affairs Letters, October 23, 2005, accessed on May 21, 2017, www.icwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AJT-6.pdf.
7. Susanne Koelbl, “A 101 Course in Mideast Dictatorships,” Der Spiegel, August 8, 2005, www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/syria-a-101-course-in-mideast-dictatorships-a-343242.html.
8. Samir Kassir, Demoqratiyat Souriya Wa Istiklal Lubnan [Syria’s Democracy and Lebanon’s Independence] (Beirut: Annahar Publishing House, 2004), 49.
9. “Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah and the First Call in the July 2006 War: The War Is Total,” Archives of the Al-Manar Channel Website, posted July 18, 2013, accessed May 21, 2017, http://archive.almanar.com.lb/article.php?id=540395.
10. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
11. “Nasrallah: Our Rockets That Hit Haifa Were Made in Syria,” Al-Akhbar newspaper website, July 19, 2012, accessed on May 21, 2017, www.al-akhbar.com/node/98121.
12. Bashar al-Assad, speech at the opening of the Fourth Congress of the Union of Journalists, August 15, 2006, posted on President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed May 21, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=989:15-2006&catid=298&Itemid=469.
13. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Bashar al-Assad, interview by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, CNN website, October 12, 2005, http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/12/alassad.transcript/.
17. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
18. Iraqi insurgent leaders and figures interviewed by the author in both Iraq and Syria between 2004 and 2013.
19. Brian Fishman, ed., Bombers, Bank Accounts, and Bleedout: Al-Qaida’s Road in and out of Iraq, by Peter Bergen, Joseph Felter, Vahid Brown, and Jacob Shapiro, The Combating Terrorism Center at Westpoint, July 22, 2008, accessed May 21, 2017, https://ctc.usma.edu/app/uploads/2011/12/Sinjar_2_FINAL.pdf.
20. Ibid.
21. Diab Serriya, in discussion with the author, December 2017.
22. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
23. Bashar al-Assad, “America Must Listen,” interview by Spiegel, Spiegel Online, September 24, 2006, http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/spiegel-interview-with-syrian-president-bashar-assad-america-must-listen-a-438804.html.
24. Noureddin Labbad, former Syria envoy to Iraq, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
25. Iraqi official, in discussion with the author, November 2009.
26. James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, The Iraq Study Group Report (New York: Vintage Books, 2006).
27. Bashar al-Assad’s childhood friend, in discussion with the author, November 2017.
28. Ibid.
29. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
30. Ibid.
31. Hiyam Ali, “Kuzbari: My Priority Is the Manufacture & Trade of Paper,” Asharq al-Awsat, October 5, 2007, http://archive.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=6&article=440034&issueno=10538#.WovaQTOB3yI.
32. US Embassy in Damascus, “Attacking Bashar’s Money,” US State Department cable, January 24, 2008, released by WikiLeaks, accessed February 20, 2018, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08DAMASCUS54_a.html.
33. Hiyam Ali, “Kuzbari: My Priority Is the Manufacture & Trade of Paper,”
34. Maarouf family member, in discussion with the author, February 2018.
35. “Women For Peace Bicycle Ride Begins in Syria,” The Jerusalem Post, April 7, 2007, https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Women-For-Peace-bicycle-ride-begins-in-Syria.
36. Former Asma al-Assad aide, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
37. Omar Abdelaziz Hallaj (former chief executive officer, Syria Trust for Development), in discussion with the author, September 2014.
38. Ammar Abd Rabbo, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
39. Former Syrian foreign ministry official, in discussion with the author, March 2017.
40. Ibid.
41. Ibid.
42. Labbad, November 2016.
43. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
44. Jeff Stein, “How the CIA Took Down Hezbollah’s Top Terrorist, Imad Mughniyah,” Newsweek, January 31, 2015, www.newsweek.com/2015/02/13/imad-mugniyah-cia-mossad-303483.html.
45. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
46. Ibid., December 2018. According to Manaf Tlass, Iran suspected Assef Shawkat betrayed Mughniyeh and it was also angry with him for his close ties to ex-Saddam regime officials, who were based in Syria and directing an insurgency against the Americans as well as Iraq’s newly empowered Shiites—Iran’s allies.
47. Most media reports said General Mohammad Suleiman was killed at his beach chalet by Israeli commandos but one former French intelligence official told the author in 2016 that he believed the killing was an inside job ordered by Bashar.
48. Former Syrian official, in discussion with the author, March 2017. Asked about this in December 2018, Manaf Tlass said he was caught up in a turf war inside the Republican Guard between two powerful Alawite generals.
49. Mustafa Tlass, interview by RT (Russia Today), YouTube video, 26:06, posted by “RT Arabic,” July 13, 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKmlE_xOkdM.
50. Syrian businessman, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
51. Western diplomat, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
52. “Syria’s First Lady Wants New Conversation with West,” ABC News website, February 6, 2007, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2852589.
53. Ibid.
54. Bashar al-Assad, interview by Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America (ABC), February 5, 2007, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2849435&page=1.
55. Western diplomat, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
56. Ariane Chemin, “Les Diners de Madame Ojjeh” [“The Dinners of Madame Ojjeh”], Le Monde, October 2, 2006, www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2006/10/02/les-diners-de-madame-ojjeh_819062_3208.html.
57. Ibid.
58. Michel Duclos, in discussion with the author, November 2016. Dumas once missed an urgent cabinet meeting because he had gone to Damascus for a long weekend with Nahed Ojjeh, according to Duclos.
59. Karl Laske, “Une Nouvelle ‘Ex-Amie’ Accuse Roland Dumas,” [“Another ‘Ex-Girlfriend’ Accuses Roland Dumas’], Libération, June, 27, 1998, https://www.liberation.fr/societe/1998/06/27/une-nouvelle-ex-amie-accuse-roland-dumas_238750.
60. Chemin, “Les Diners de Madame Ojjeh.”
61. Renaud Lecadre, “Firas Tlass, ‘Partenaire Local’ de Lafarge en Syrie” [“Firas Tlass, Lafarge’s Local Partner in Syria”], Libération, December 14, 2017, www.liberation.fr/france/2017/12/14/firas-tlass-partenaire-local-de-lafarge-en-syrie_1616777.
62. Ayman al-Shoufi, “Syria: Billions That Have Dried Up,” Assafir, December 18, 2013, http://arabi.assafir.com/Article/3786.
63. Syrian businessmen, in discussion with the author, December 2017.
64. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
65. Isabelle Hausser, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
66. “Total Signs Three Oil and Gas Agreements in Syria,” Total S.A., accessed May 21, 2017, www.total.com/en/media/news/press-releases/syrie-total-signe-trois-accords-petroliers-et-gaziers.
67. Duclos, November 2016.
68. Claude Guéant, in discussion with the author, November 2016. Guéant said Sarkozy had received personal assurances from Bashar and guarantees from the Qataris and Turks that the Syrian regime would do everything to bring to an end the campaign of bombings and assassinations that had targeted the critics and opponents of the regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
69. Duclos, November 2016.
70. “Full Admission by the French of Syria’s Pivotal Role,” Al-Watan (Damascus, Syria), July 13, 2008.
Chapter 8 Precious Interlocutor and Unavoidable Player
1. “President Assad and His Wife Meet Members of the Syrian Community,” Syrian Radio and Television website, December 12, 2010, accessed May 21, 2017, www.rtv.gov.sy/index.php?p=13&id=67142.
2. Claude Guéant, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
3. “Syria’s First Lady Asma al-Assad Speech at the Paris Diplomatic Academy in 2010,” YouTube video, 52:42, posted by “Antikrieg TV,” September 14, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySlT5un6Ddg.
4. Ibid.
5. Asma al-Assad, interview by Régis Le Sommier, Paris Match, December, 17, 2010, www.parismatch.com/Actu/International/Asma-et-Bachar-el-Assad-deux-amoureux-a-Paris-156785.
6. Guéant, November 2016.
7. US Embassy in Damascus, “Special Reports: Wolf, Pelosi, and Issa Codels (April 2–6),” April 11, 2007, US State Department cable, released by WikiLeaks, accessed May 17, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07DAMASCUS348_a.html.
8. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
9. Jeremy M. Sharp, Syria: Background and US Relations, special report for Congress, Congressional Research Service, May 1, 2008, 25–31.
10. Guéant, November 2016.
11. Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, “Officials Say US Killed an Iraqi in Raid in Syria,” New York Times, October 27, 2008.
12. David Ignatius, “What Bashar al-Assad Hopes for with Barack Obama and Mideast Peace,” Washington Post, December 24, 2008, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/23/AR2008122301998.html.
13. US Embassy in Damascus, “Reengaging with Syria: The Middle East’s Unavoidable Player,” US State Department cable, January 28, 2009, released by WikiLeaks, accessed May 21, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09DAMASCUS82_a.html.
14. “Operation Cast Lead: Israel Strikes Back against Hamas Terror in Gaza,” Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, January 21, 2009, www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/terrorism/pages/israel_strikes_back_against_hamas_terror_infrastructure_gaza_27-dec-2008.aspx.
15. David Blair, “Israeli Contender Defies Syria on Eve of Poll,” The Telegraph, February 9, 2009, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/4569861/Israeli-contender-defies-Syria-on-eve-of-poll.html.
16. US Embassy in Damascus, “Kerry–Asad: Improving the US–Syria Relationship,” US State Department cable, February 27, 2009, released by WikiLeaks, accessed May 21, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09DAMASCUS160_a.html.
17. Ibid.
18. US Embassy in Damascus, “Kerry–Asad: Saudis May Be Sowing the Seeds of Lebanon’s Next Civil War,” US State Department cable, February 27, 2009, released by WikiLeaks, accessed May 21, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09DAMASCUS159_a.html. The title of this cable could be misleading; it was Bashar who claimed that the Saudis were “sowing the seeds of Lebanon’s next civil war” in his discussion with Kerry. It was a way for Bashar to deflect the pressure from Kerry over Iranian-Syrian support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia.
19. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
20. David Remnick, “Negotiating with the Whirlwind,” The New Yorker, December 21 & 28, 2015, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/negotiating-the-whirlwind.
21. US Embassy in Damascus, “Scene Setter for Senator Specter’s Dec. 29–31 Visit to Damascus,” US State Department cable, December 18, 2008, released by WikiLeaks, accessed May 21, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08DAMASCUS896_a.html.
22. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
23. Michel Duclos, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
24. US Embassy in Damascus, “Asad Discusses Iran and Gaza with CODEL Specter,” US State Department cable, January 4, 2009, released by WikiLeaks, accessed May 21, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09DAMASCUS3_a.html.
25. US Embassy in Damascus, “CODEL Gregg’s December 30 Meeting with President Assad,” US State Department cable, January 4, 2010, released by WikiLeaks, accessed May 21, 2017, https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/10DAMASCUS8_a.html.
26. Khaled Yacoub Oweis, “Syria and Iran Defy Clinton in Show of Unity,” Reuters, February 25, 2010, www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-iran-idUSTRE61O33X20100225.
27. Eric Chevallier, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
28. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, December 2016
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid.
31. “Timeline: Iran’s Post-Election Protests,” Financial Times, June 11, 2010. www.ft.com/content/533d966e-755a-11df-a7e2-00144feabdc0.
32. Bashar al-Assad, interview by Alain Gresh, Le Monde Diplomatique, July 9, 2008.
33. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, December 2018. Coppola was on his way to a film festival in Beirut but he was prevented from landing there because his private jet had parts manufactured in Israel. The ban on any dealings with Israel is vigorously enforced by Lebanon’s most powerful faction, Hezbollah. So Coppola had to land in Damascus instead. Manaf helped the famous director get to Beirut by land on condition he come back to see Syria. Coppola returned to Syria. Manaf dined with Coppola, who also met with Bashar and Asma.
34. Damascene businesswoman, in discussion with the author, December 2015.
35. Khaled al-Khani, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
36. Duclos, November 2016.
37. Chevallier, December 2016.
38. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
39. Ibid., October 2014.
40. Khalid Abu-Ismail, Ali Abdel-Gadir and Heba El-Laithy, Poverty and Inequality in Syria (1997-2007), Arab Development Challenges Report Background Paper 2011/15, United Nations Development Programme, http://www.undp.org/content/dam/rbas/doc/poverty/BG_15_Poverty%20and%20Inequality%20in%20Syria_FeB.pdf.
41. Ibid.
42. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
43. Duclos, November 2016.
44. Darwish, December 2016.
Chapter 9 No More Fear after Today
1. Ayman al-Aswad, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
6. Aswad, November 2016.
7. Ahmad al-Sayasneh, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
8. Ibid.
9. Darwish, December 2016.
10. Marwa Al-Ghamian, in discussion with the author, November 2014.
11. Aswad, November 2016.
12. Malek al-Jawabra, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
13. Ibid.
14. “Demonstrations Next to the Omari Mosque, Daraa,” YouTube video, 13:21, posted by “Syria0syria0,” March 19, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEKOCfqoxis.
15. Al-Sayasneh, July 2017.
16. Ibid.
17. “Demonstrations Next to the Omari Mosque, Daraa.”
18. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
19. Al-Jawabra, January 2017.
20. “Unique Video, Watch the First Protest in Daraa, March 18, 2011,” YouTube video, 12:06, posted by “Bayareq Houran,” March 16, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnCJ5K1tKXE.
21. Al-Jawabra, January 2017.
22. “Shabiha Helicopters Land in Daraa at the Start of the Syrian Revolution, March 18, 2011,” YouTube video, 5:55, posted by “Zeina Erhaim,” January 16, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=f425H-g8iJ0.
23. Al-Jawabra, January 2017.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. “Daraa al-Balad, March 18, 2011, Syria’s First Demonstration and the First Shooting During the Revolution,” YouTube video, 5:03, posted by “The Coordination Committee of the City of Nawa,” March 18, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKvyWzFjc14.
27. Al-Jawabra, January 2017.
28. Sally Masalmeh, January 2017.
29. Ibid.
30. Al-Jawabra, January 2017.
31. Masalmeh, January 2017.
32. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
33. Ibid.
34. “President Bashar al-Assad’s Delegation to Daraa,” YouTube video, 9:34, posted by “Rami Alasssad,” March 24, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCyitnKE4FA.
35. Al-Sayasneh, July 2017.
36. Masalmeh, January 2017.
37. Ibid.
38. “These Were the Demands of the People of Daraa the Night the Omari Mosque Was Stormed,” YouTube video, posted by “Sari Sahhar,” April 6, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EgKmQ5n3mw.
39. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
40. Ibid.
41. Masalmeh, January 2017.
42. “The Night of the Storming of the Omari Mosque, March 23, 2011,” YouTube video, 9:21, posted by “anahourani2011,” April 22, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SSZLHu3rf0.
43. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid.
Chapter 10 The Conspiracy
1. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
2. Claude Guéant, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
3. Liz Sly, Sudarsan Raghavan, and Joby Warrick, “France Fires First Shots against Libya after Gaddafi’s Forces Enter Benghazi,” Washington Post, March 19, 2011.
4. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President on Libya,” March 19, 2011, The Obama White House Archives, accessed June 5, 2017, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/19/remarks-president-libya.
5. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
6. Ibid.
7. “The Syrian Leadership Promises Reforms,” YouTube video, 3:30, posted by “BBC News Arabic,”March 24, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC9ldpVvS4w.
8. Sally Masalmeh, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
9. Shadi Abufakher, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
10. “Al-Marjeh demonstration, March 25, 2011,” YouTube video, 1:38, posted by “SyrianFreePress,” March 25, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpdekOoVYHM.
11. Ali Ezzo Rhebani, Douma city council member, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
12. Human Rights Watch, We’ve Never Seen Such Horror: Crimes against Humanity by Syrian Security Forces, June 1, 2011, www.hrw.org/report/2011/06/01/weve-never-seen-such-horror/crimes-against-humanity-syrian-security-forces.
13. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
14. Ibid.
15. “The Request of the Deputy Abu-Roumieh from Bashar to Apologize for Events in Daraa,” YouTube video, 2:28, posted by “FreeMediaSyria,” April 5, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dAUSuN32xg.
16. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
17. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
18. Ibid.
19. Khaled Khoja, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
20. Darwish, December 2016.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. “Media Lying Against Syria,” YouTube video, 15:13, posted by “HananNoura,” April 2, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2lmqzl3QM0.Syrian state television broadcast what it said were confessions by an Egyptian national who had been detained by the mukhabarat in Syria. The footage was later shared widely by regime loyalists on YouTube. The man claimed he came to Syria to stir trouble and that he was liaising with another alleged co-conspirator based in Colombia.
24. Reuters, “Syria Frees Reuters Reporter, Photographer Missing,” April 1, 2011. https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-56060520110401.
25. University student who took part in pro-Bashar rallies, in discussion with the author, June 2017.
26. “Bashar al-Assad’s Speech in the People’s Assembly after Syria’s Events,” YouTube video, 14:06, from an original broadcast on March 30, 2011 by Syrian state television, posted by “Bedoonta3lee9,” March 30, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=97iMoKAxfwQ.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. “The Full Transcript of President Bashar al-Assad’s Discourse in Front of the People’s Assembly on March 30, 2011,” President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed June 5, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1093:30&catid=303&Itemid=469.
30. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
Chapter 11 Make Peace
1. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
2. Ali Ezzo Rhebani, Douma city council member, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
3. Ibid.
4. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
5. Rhebani, November 2016.
6. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. “Addounia Channel’s Report on What Happened in Douma 1/4/2011,” YouTube video, 0:58, original broadcast on Addounia TV posted by “fatter hasan,” April 1, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUCpDewZZds.
10. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
11. Ahmad al-Sayasneh, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
12. Rhebani, November 2016.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
16. Rhebani, November 2016.
17. Ibid.
18. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. “The Syrian Revolution: The Friday of Perseverance Report 8-4-2011,” YouTube video, 10:12, original broadcast by Al Arabiya news channel posted by “syriaus,” April 4, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjpRUE07A1op.
23. “Sham, Al Jazeera’s first report on Friday of the Martyrs, April 1, 2011,” YouTube video, original broadcast by Al Jazeera Arabic news channel posted by “ShaamNetwork S.N.N.,” April 8, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLcnxgnI4Vc.
24. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Ahmad al-Sayasneh, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
30. Nizar al-Hiraki, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
31. Al-Sayasneh, July 2017.
32. Ibid.
33. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
34. “Addounia TV—Interview with Sheik Ahmed al-Saysneh,” YouTube video, 1:03, original broadcast of Addounia TV in April 2011 from Syrian state television posted by “Syrianagent2011,” April 27, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZlZma2hXjw.
35. Al-Sayasneh, July 2017.
36. Ibid.
Chapter 12 You’re Too Soft
1. Omar Abdelaziz Hallaj (former chief executive officer, Syria Trust for Development), in discussion with the author, September 2014.
2. Mohammad Munir al-Faqir, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
3. Hallaj, September 2014.
4. Ibid.
5. “Massar Children’s Discovery Center,” Henning Larsen, accessed June 12, 2017, www.henninglarsen.com/PdfArchive/Project_2710.pdf.
6. Ibid.
7. Adrian Blomfield, “Syria: Lord Recruited to Design Garden for Assad Family, Emails Show,” The Telegraph, July 8, 2012, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9384976/Syria-Lord-recruited-to-design-garden-for-Assad-family-emails-show.html.
8. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
9. Joan Juliet Buck, “Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert,” Vogue, March 2011, posted on Gawker website, accessed June 12, 2017, http://gawker.com/asma-al-assad-a-rose-in-the-desert-1265002284.
10. Ibid.
11. Anonymous source, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
12. Memorandum from Brown Lloyd James to Fares Kallas, May 19, 2011, no. 2089956, WikiLeaks Syria Files, https://search.wikileaks.org/syria-files/emailid/2089956.
13. Ibid.
14. Eric Chevallier, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
15. Buck, “Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert.”
16. Chevallier, July 2017.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
21. Chevallier, July 2017.
22. “Sarkozy Hausse le Ton Contre le Régime Syrien” [“Sarkozy Raises His Tone against the Syrian Regime”], L’Express, April 26, 2011, www.lexpress.fr/actualite/politique/sarkozy-hausse-le-ton-contre-le-regime-syrien_986551.html.
23. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
24. Ibid.
25. Ali Ezzo Rhebani, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
26. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
27. Ibid.
28. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
29. Khaled al-Khani, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
30. Ibid.
31. Syrian Human Rights Committee, Atrocities Endured by Hama Residents, December 26, 2004, www.shrc.org/?p=7185.
32. Al-Khani, October 2014.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. “Douma 22-4-2011, Great Friday Protest, Tens of Thousands,” YouTube video, 5:26, posted by “3ayeef,” April 22, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieoBrv7sVns.
36. “Zablatani Massacre after the Attempt by the Youth of Saqba and Surrounding Areas to Reach Abbaseen Square on Great Friday,” YouTube video, 1:41, posted by “lion4syria,” April 27, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlGJj3E7Zc8.
37. Human Rights Watch, We’ve Never Seen Such Horror: Crimes against Humanity by Syrian Security Forces, June 1, 2011, 11, www.hrw.org/report/2011/06/01/weve-never-seen-such-horror/crimes-against-humanity-syrian-security-forces.
38. “Homs Sit-in at the New Clock: The Full Story,” YouTube video, 8:00, posted by “thefreehoms,” April 18, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie580fHgxu8.
39. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
40. Ibid.
41. “Smashing the Idol Hafez al-Assad in Al-Rastan the Syrian Revolution 2011,” YouTube video, 1:32, posted by “Aboamin Amin,” April 17, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd1Q_OhUXck.
42. Germany-based defected army officer, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
43. Al-Rastan defected army officer, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid.
46. Germany-based defected army officer, July 2017.
47. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
48. Germany-based defected army officer, July 2017.
49. Ibid.
50. Khaled Yacoub Oweis, “Syrian Forces Storm Town after Protest, Say Activists,” Reuters, April 12, 2011, http://in.reuters.com/article/columns-us-syria-idINTRE72N2MC20110412.
51. Sally Masalmeh, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
52. Human Rights Watch, We’ve Never Seen Such Horror.
53. Ibid.
54. Sally Masalmeh and Malek al-Jawabra, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
55. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
56. Hazem Suleiman, “Turning Artists into Traitors: Successful Soap Opera,” Al-Akhbar, May 9, 2011, www.al-akhbar.com/node/11661.
57. Masalmeh, January 2017.
58. Masalmeh and Al-Jawabra, January 2017.
59. Masalmeh, January 2017.
60. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
61. Human Rights Watch, By All Means Necessary! Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria,” December 15, 2011, 29, www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria1211webwcover_0.pdf.
62. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
63. Ibid.
64. Ibid.
65. Defected army officer, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
66. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
67. Ibid.
68. Human Rights Watch, We Live as in War: Crackdown on Protesters in the Governorate of Homs, November 11, 2011, 29, www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria1111webwcover_0.pdf.
69. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
70. “Defection of First Lieutenant Abdul-Razzaq Mohammad Tlass,” YouTube video, 4:32, from broadcast by Al Jazeera Arabic news channel posted by “mohammedhariri1,” June 6, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpYRNP8TCBI.
71. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
72. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
Chapter 13 The Hama Manual
1. Khaled al-Khani, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
2. Human Rights Watch, Syria’s Tadmor Prison: Dissent Still Hostage to a Legacy of Terror, April 1996, www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria2.htm#P166_23507.
3. Al-Khani, October 2014.
4. “Watercolors of Hama in the 1930s,” National Museum of Denmark website, http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/historical-knowledge-the-world/the-lands-of-the-mediterranean/the-far-east/digital-hama-a-window-on-syrias-past/watercolours-of-hama-in-the-1930s/.
5. Al-Khani, December 2016.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Raphael Lefèvre, Ashes of Hama: The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria (London: Hurst & Company, 2013), 112.
11. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2: The Great Repression 1976–1982, September 1990, accessed on Internet Archive, https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_N-xjxWYWnlwC/bub_gb_N-xjxWYWnlwC_djvu.txt.
12. Mustafa Tlass, Mira’at Hayati: Al-Aqed Al-Rabe(‘ayn) 1978–1988, Al-Sumoud [My Life’s Mirror: The Fourth Decade 1978–1988, Perseverance] (Damascus: Dar Tlass, 2006), 450.
13. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Al-Khani, December 2016.
17. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2.
18. Lefèvre, Ashes of Hama, 109.
19. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2.
20. Al-Khani, December 2016.
21. “The Black Box: Hama 82,” Al Jazeera Documentaries, 51:31, November 28, 2013, www.aljazeera.net/programs/black-box/2013/11/28/82
22. Ibid.
23. Hafez al-Assad, “Mr. President Hafez al-Assad’s Speech at Graduation Ceremony of the Third Tour of Revolutionary Youth Union Parachutists,” October 1, 1980, President Bashar al-Assad official website, accessed June 26, 2017, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=673:1-10-1981&catid=214&Itemid=476.
24. Lefèvre, Ashes of Hama, 126.
25. Michel Seurat, Syrie l’État de Barbarie [Syria the Barbaric State] (Paris : Presses Universitaires de France), 112–13.
26. “The Black Box: Hama 82.”
27. Al-Khani, December 2016.
28. “Surah Ya-Seen [36]—Al-Qu’ran al-Kareem,” Quran.com website, https://quran.com/36.
29. Al-Khani, December 2016.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. Syrian Human Rights Committee, Hama Massacre: February 1982, a Genocide and Crime against Humanity, February 1, 2006, www.shrc.org/?p=8427.
35. Ibid.
36. Al-Khani, December 2016.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.
43. Mohammad Farouk Tayfour, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
44. Syrian Human Rights Committee, Hama Massacre.
45. “Why Am I Drawing Um Ibrahim?” YouTube video, 19:23, original broadcast by Orient News posted by “Emma Suleiman,” uploaded January 31, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=54EHiLzTHx8.
Chapter 14 Yalla Erhal Ya, Bashar! (Come On, Bashar, Leave!)
1. “Syria Top News—Syria—Hama—A Closeup of the Syrian Flag,” YouTube video, 1:56, posted by “SyriaTopNews,” June 18, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiGWYf_9dRQ.
2. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2: The Great Repression 1976–1982, September 1990, accessed on Internet Archive, https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_N-xjxWYWnlwC/bub_gb_N-xjxWYWnlwC_djvu.txt.
3. Syrian Human Rights Committee, Hama Massacre 1982: Legal Responsibility Requires Accountability, July 7, 2003, www.shrc.org/?p=6742.
4. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Syria, Chapter 2.
5. Khaled al-Khani, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
6. Ibid.
7. Mustafa Khalifa, Al-Qawqa’a: Yawmiyat Mutalasles [The Shell: Memoirs of a Hidden Observer] (Beirut: Dar Al-Adab, 2016), 141–43.
8. Al-Khani, November 2016.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Bashar al-Assad, interview by Barbara Walters, ABC News, December 7, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/International/transcript-abcs-barbara-walters-interview-syrian-president-bashar/story?id=15099152.
12. United Nations, “UN Rights Chief Urges Syria to End Assault on Its Own People,” United Nations News Center website, June 9, 2011, www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38665#.WVyrXTOB18c.
13. Eric Chevallier, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
14. “Syria Crisis: Investigating Jisr al-Shughour,” BBC News website, June 22, 2011, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13857654.
15. Chevallier, December 2016.
16. “Sniper in Hama on the Friday of the Children of Freedom, June 3,” YouTube video, 3:48, posted by “FreeSyria,” June 4, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vinh4IaHlO8.
17. Liam Stack, “Syrian Tanks Move In on City as Thousands Mourn Protesters’ Deaths,” New York Times, June 4, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/world/middleeast/05syria.html.
18. “Ugarit Hama, Dignified Scene of Friday’s Protests with ‘Ya Haif’ Song and the Long Flag, Part 3, Hama 17 6,” YouTube video, 2:08, posted by “Ugarit News—Syria,” June 17, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFKOic6gaI0.
19. Al-Khani, December 2016.
20. “Hama 10 6 2011 ‘Syria Wants Freedom’ Song from Asi Square,” YouTube video, 2:29, posted by “freesyria01,” June 15, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeqn99XTZfk.
21. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
22. Ibid.
23. Nicholas Blanford, “Syria’s Assad Offers Amnesty to Political Prisoners,” Christian Science Monitor, May 31, 2011, www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0531/Syria-s-Assad-offers-amnesty-to-political-prisoners.
24. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
25. “Packed Hezbollah Gathering in Nabi Sheet for the Resistance and Liberation Anniversary 2011,” Moqawama website, May 25, 2011, www.moqawama.org/essaydetails.php?eid=20819&cid=141.
26. Ethan Bronner, “Israeli Troops Fire as Marchers Breach Borders,” New York Times, May 15, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16mideast.html.
27. Anthony Shadid, “Syrian Elite to Fight Protests to ‘the End,’” New York Times, May 10, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/world/middleeast/11makhlouf.html.
28. Dan Bilefsky, “New Move to Condemn Syria in UN,” New York Times, June 8, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/world/middleeast/09nations.html.
29. Sam Dagher, Charles Levinson, and Margaret Coker, “Tiny Kingdom’s Huge Role in Libya Draws Concern,” Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2011, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204002304576627000922764650?mg=prod/accounts-wsj.
30. Wisam Kanaan and Mohammad al-Chalabi, “Syria and Qatar: A Love Story and Divorce… And ‘Al-Jazeera,’” Al-Akhbar, July 22, 2011, www.al-akhbar.com/node/17243.
31. Moaz al-Khatib, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
32. Walid Jumblatt, in discussion with the author, November 2014.
33. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
34. Jumblatt, November 2014.
35. “Photos of his Excellency the President in 2011,” Al-Assad.de website, www.alassad.de/2011
36. Jumblatt, November 2014.
37. Liam Stack, “Video of Tortured Boy’s Corpse Deepens Anger in Syria,” New York Times, May 30, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/world/middleeast/31syria.html.
38. Jumblatt, November 2014.
39. Ibid.
40. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
41. Ibid.
42. “The Head of the Airforce Intelligence Directorate Speaks to Sputnik about the Crisis,” Sputnik News website, November 1, 2016, https://arabic.sputniknews.com/arab_world/201611011020658565
43. Manaf Tlass, December 2016.
44. Ibid.
45. “President Bashar al-Assad’s Speech at Damascus University on June 20, 2011,” President Bashar al-Assad official website, www.presidentassad.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1091:20-2011&catid=303&Itemid=469.
46. Bassel al-Junaidi, “The Story of the ‘Friends of Saydnaya’: The Three Most Powerful Men in Syria Today,” Al-Jumhuriya website, October 16, 2013, http://aljumhuriya.net/19328.
47. Al-Khani, December 2016.
48. Manaf Tlass, December 2016.
49. Ibid.
50. “Thala al-Khair Promotes a French Website Funded by Her Husband Manaf to Improve the Regime’s Image,” Syria Insight Facebook page based on e-mail in WikiLeaks Syria Files, released in 2012, accessed July 5, 2017, www.facebook.com/syria.wiki/photos/a.455237374495396.104844.455180471167753/466861026666364/?type=3&theater.
51. Vincent Hugeux and Hala Kodmani, “Syrie: La Legion Française d’Assad” [“Syria: Assad’s French Legion”], L’Express, September 13, 2012, www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/proche-moyen-orient/syrie-la-legion-francaise-d-assad_1160179.html.
52. InfoSyrie.fr website, accessed July 5, 2017, www.infosyrie.fr/re-information/.
53. Manaf Tlass, December 2016.
54. Chevallier, December 2016.
55. Ibid.
56. “President Assad and His Wife in a Surprise Visit to Jala’a Stadium, Part 1,” YouTube video, 2:20, posted by “ZeinasoftNetwork,” July 27, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6HmDf5Otdo.
57. “President Assad and His Wife in a Surprise Visit to Jala’a Stadium, Part 2,” YouTube video, 1:29, posted by “ZeinasoftNetwork,” July 27, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=emyGUZaPaV8.
58. “President Assad and His Wife in a Surprise Visit to Jala’a Stadium, Part JALA’A3,” YouTube video, 1:56, posted by “ZeinasoftNetwork,” July 27, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4kSC0oTdcI.
59. “Hama—Asi Square Demonstration on ‘Leave Friday’ 1/7/2011,” YouTube video, 13:51, posted by “Ayham Alkasem,” February 3, 2014 www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwUrpE9zKFw.
60. “Glorious Syria Hama, A Brilliant Hamwi Celebration on ‘Leave Friday,’” YouTube video, 14:31, posted by “louai alzalam,” August 29, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GDzLl6Qfs&list=PL4K0x9Q_-lmD6IeGvgh1bhDbzny9GGZX2.
61. Human Rights Watch, Syria: Shootings, Arrests Follow Hama Protest, July 6, 2011, www.hrw.org/news/2011/07/06/syria-shootings-arrests-follow-hama-protest.
62. Chevallier, December 2016.
63. Ibid., Chevallier said his entry to Hama was facilitated by the city’s police chief, who was mulling defection to the opposition side.
64. Ibid.
65. “Hama—The US Ambassador’s Visit to Asi Square 8-7-2011,” YouTube video, 1:32, posted by “Syrian Revolution Network,” July 8, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNIk_bRweH4.
66. Mohammad Jaber, in discussion with the author, March 2013.
67. “Gunfire at Syrians in Damascus from the French and US Embassies,” YouTube video, 6:54, posted by “HananNoura,” July 22, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAJN_f0bE18.
68. Nada Bakri, “Crowds in Syria Attack US and French Embassies,” New York Times, July 11, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/world/middleeast/12syria.html.
69. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
70. “I Was There, the Assault on Hama, August 3, 2011,” YouTube video of original broadcast by Alaraby TV, 26:05, posted by “Alaraby TV,” October 27, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZejluGjEeY.
71. Nada Bakri and Anthony Shadid, “Broadcasting Hama Ruins, Syria Says It Has Ended Revolt,” New York Times, August 5, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/world/middleeast/06syria.html.
72. Rania Abouzeid, “Exclusive: A Visit to Hama, the Rebel Syrian City That Refused to Die,” Time magazine, August 11, 2011, http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2088068,00.html.
Chapter 15 Don’t Stay with the Butcher
1. “President of Syria Dr. Bashar al-Assad in Umayyad Square among His People,” YouTube video, 11:33, posted by “HananNoura,” January 11, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLUpQ46bkrQ.
2. Witness, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
3. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “President Obama: The Future of Syria Must Be Determined by Its People, but President Bashar al-Assad Is Standing in Their Way,” The Obama White House Archives, August 18, 2011, accessed October 19, 2017, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/08/18/president-obama-future-syria-must-be-determined-its-people-president-bashar-al-assad.
4. “US, Europe Call for Syrian Leader al-Assad to Step Down,” CNN website, August 19, 2011, http://edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/08/18/us.syria/index.html.
5. United Nations, “Syrian Crackdown on Protesters May Amount to Crimes against Humanity—UN Report,” United Nations website, August 18, 2011, www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39325#.WekAGjOB3yI.
6. Carnegie Middle East Center, Syria in Crisis: The Syrian National Council, September 25, 2013, http://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/48334?lang=en.
7. Bashar al-Assad, interview by Barbara Walters, ABC News, December 7, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/International/transcript-abcs-barbara-walters-interview-syrian-president-bashar/story?id=15099152.
8. Euan McKirdy, “Eight Times Russia Blocked a UN Security Council Resolution on Syria,” CNN website, April 13, 2017, http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/13/middleeast/russia-unsc-syria-resolutions/index.html.
9. Reuters, “NATO Says Will Not Intervene in Syria,” October 31, 2011, www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-nato-newspro/nato-says-will-not-intervene-in-syria-idUSTRE79U52Z20111031.
10. Eric Chevallier, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
11. “President of Syria Dr. Bashar al-Assad in Umayyad Square among His People,” YouTube video.
12. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, August 2016.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid., December 2018.
16. Ibid., August 2016.
17. Ibid.
18. Agence France-Presse (AFP), “Paris Rappelle son Ambassadeur en Syrie” [“Paris Recalls its Ambassador to Syria”], France 24 website, November 16, 2011, www.france24.com/fr/20111116-paris-rappelle-son-ambassadeur-syrie-damas-ministre-affaires-etrangeres-alain-juppe-attaque-consulat.
19. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
20. Ibid.
21. Anthony Shadid, “US Ambassador to Syria Leaves Damascus Amid Threats to Safety,” New York Times, October 24, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/world/middleeast/us-ambassador-to-syria-leaves-damascus-amid-threats-to-safety.html.
22. Chevallier, December 2016.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
26. Chevallier, December 2016.
27. Thom Shanker and Liam Stack, “Panetta Is First US Defense Secretary to Visit Libya,” New York Times, December 17, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/world/africa/leon-panetta-defense-secretary-libya-visit.html.
28. “Egyptian Elections: Preliminary Results Update,” Jadaliyya website, January 9, 2012, www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/3331/egyptian-elections_preliminary-results_updated-.
29. Brian Whitaker, “Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh Resigns—But It Changes Little,” The Guardian, November 24, 2011, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/24/yemen-ali-abdullah-saleh-resigns.
30. Chevallier, July 2017.
31. Ibid.
32. Syria Wikileaks, “Manaf Tlass’s Wife Thala Khair and Bashar al-Assad Are Best Friends and She Wishes Him Victory over His Enemies,” Facebook, July 31, 2012, www.facebook.com/syr.wiki/posts/364574890277421:0.
33. Ibid.
34. Syria Wikileaks, Thala Khair-Tlass message to Bashar al-Assad on January 10, 2012, Syrian Insight. (Website no longer available but copies of posts have been preserved.)
35. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
36. Ibid.
37. Darwish, July 2017.
38. Ibid.
39. Shadi Abufakher, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
40. Defected Syrian army officer who took part in Iran training, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
41. Jakub Dalek and Adam Senft, “Behind Blue Coat: Investigations of Commercial Filtering in Syria and Burma,” Citizen Lab website, November 9, 2011. https://citizenlab.ca/2011/11/behind-blue-coat/.
42. Darwish, July 2017.
43. Haitham al-Manaa, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
44. Anthony Shadid, “Killing of Opposition Leader in Syria Provokes Kurds,” New York Times, October 8, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/middleeast/killing-of-opposition-leader-in-syria-provokes-kurds.html.
45. “The Lawyer Khalil Ma’atouq and the Human Rights Lawyer Mazen Darwish [at the Funeral of the] Martyr Masha’al Tammo,” YouTube video, 2:57, posted by “Ahmad Khalil,” January 29, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=b668LDHI840.
46. Riad Seif, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
47. “As Syrian Death Toll Tops 5,000, UN Human Rights Chief Warns about Key City,” UN News website, December 12, 2011, https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/12/398082-syrian-death-toll-tops-5000-un-human-rights-chief-warns-about-key-city.
48. Kareem Fahim, “Syria Blames Al Qaeda after Bombs Kill Dozens in Damascus,” New York Times, December 23, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/world/middleeast/syria-says-suicide-bombers-attack-in-damascus.html?mcubz=1.
49. “Assad Emails: ‘Blaming Al-Qaida Is Not in Our Interest’—Translation,” The Guardian website, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/bashar-al-assad-syria12.
50. “Saeed Ramadan al-Bouti Accuses Burhan Ghalyoun of Being behind the Bombings in Damascus,” Daily Motion video taken from a broadcast by Syrian State Television, 14:05, posted by “FreeMediaSyria,” December 24, 2011, www.dailymotion.com/video/xna61z.
51. Darwish, July 2017.
52. “Nighttime Protest in Barzeh on New Year’s Eve in the Presence of [Activists] Razan Zeitouneh and Mazen Darwish,” YouTube Video, 1:37, posted by “All For Syria,” December 31, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tByALHvSMLs&t=35s.
Chapter 16 Blood on My Hands
1. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
2. Even though sidelined by Bashar, Manaf was never formally removed from his position as commander of the 104th Brigade of the Republican Guard.
3. “The Martyred Lion of the Republican Guard Bids the Battlefields Farewell,” Al Manar website, October 20, 2017, www.almanar.com.lb/2777399. (Zahreddine was killed in a landmine explosion in eastern Syria in October 2017.)
4. Homs residents and witnesses, in discussion with the author, June 2013.
5. Human Rights Watch, We Live as in War: Crackdown on Protesters in the Governorate of Homs, Syria, November 11, 2011, accessed October 30, 2018, www.hrw.org/report/2011/11/11/we-live-war/crackdown-protesters-governorate-homs-syria.
6. Witnessed by the author, June 2013.
7. “The Actress Fadwa Suleiman in the Heart of the Protests in al-Bayada, Homs,” from footage broadcast by the Al-Jazeera News Channel, YouTube video, 2:47, posted by “Saka2010,” November 8, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZT1PdiQVNI.
8. Homs residents and witnesses, in discussion with the author, April 2014.
9. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
10. Ibid.
11. Mohammad Farouk Tayfour, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
12. Defected army officer turned Syrian rebel leader, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
13. Sam Dagher, “Libyans Loot Weapons from Desert Cache,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2011, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203405504576602201905770000.
14. Defected army officer turned Syrian rebel leader, August 2017.
15. Haitham al-Manaa, in discussion with the author, October 2014. Manaa was among those who met Qatari national Abdul-Rahman al-Nuaimi.
16. Suhair al-Atassi, in discussion with the author, August 2017. Atassi was a leading Syrian opposition figure and had firsthand knowledge of the offers made by Nuaimi.
17. Darwish, July 2017.
18. Riad Seif, in discussion with the author, August 2017. Seif, a leading figure from the Damascus Spring period that followed Bashar al-Assad’s ascent to power in 2000, was a senior member of the Syrian National Council and later assumed leadership posts in subsequent opposition bodies.
19. Sam Dagher, “Arab Media Clash Over Syria,” Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203961204577269081450598296.
20. “The Charm of Telesalafism: An Influential Rebel Preacher Who Needs to Tone Things Down,” The Economist, October 20, 2012, www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2012/10/20/the-charm-of-telesalafism.
21. Burhan Ghalyoun, in in discussion with the author, November 2016.
22. Eric Chevallier, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
23. Ibid.
24. Darwish, July 2017.
25. “They Beat Him and Ordered Him ‘Kneel to Your God Bashar al-Assad,’ See What He Did,” YouTube video, 1:01, posted by “Aly Mossallam,” September 17, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QndtTv74oy8.
26. Nephew of the friend of Aniseh Makhlouf, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
27. Ibid.
28. “Assad Emails: “Harrods and Fondue Set,” The Guardian, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/bashar-al-assad-syria20.
29. “Assad Emails: Bougeoirs and Chandeliers,” The Guardian, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/bashar-al-assad-syria25.
30. “Assad Emails: ‘Fwd: Christian Louboutin Shoes Coming Shortly,’” The Guardian, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/bashar-al-assad-syria24.
31. Robert Booth, Mona Mahmood, and Luke Harding, “Exclusive: Secret Assad Emails Lift Lid on Life of Leader’s Inner Circle,” The Guardian, March 14, 2012.
32. “Assad Emails: ‘If We Are Strong Together,’” The Guardian, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/syria-middleeast1.
33. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
34. Michael Hann and Mathew Taylor, “Assad iTunes Emails Show Music Taste from Chris Brown to Right Said Fred,” The Guardian, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/assad-itunes-emails-chris-brown.
35. Karim Fahim and Hwaida Saad, “Syria Agrees to Allow Outside Observers, but Activists Remain Wary,” New York Times, December 19, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/world/middleeast/syria-agrees-to-allow-arab-league-observers.html.
36. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
37. Ibid.
38. Homs activist Mahmoud Fahed, in discussion with the author, December 2014.
39. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, interview by Bob Simon, CBS: 60 Minutes, January 15, 2012, www.cbsnews.com/news/emir-of-qatar-favors-arab-troops-in-syria/.
40. “Arab League Calls on Assad to Delegate Power,” Al-Jazeera website, January 23, 2012, www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/01/201212254625411178.html.
41. Robin Pogrebin, “Qatari Riches Are Buying Art World Influence,” New York Times, July 22, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/07/23/arts/design/qatar-uses-its-riches-to-buy-art-treasures.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
42. “Assad Emails: Asma Signs Off as ‘AAA’,” The Guardian, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/bashar-al-assad-syria27.
43. Ibid.
44. “Assad Emails: ‘I’m Sure You Have Many Places to Turn to, Including Doha,’” The Guardian, March 14, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/14/bashar-al-assad-syria9.
45. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
46. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Statement by the President on Syria,” February 4, 2012, The Obama White House Archives, accessed October 30, 2018, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/02/04/statement-president-syria.
47. United Nations, “Security Council Fails to Adopt Draft Resolution on Syria as Russian Federation, China Veto Text Supporting Arab League’s Proposed Peace Plan,” United Nations official website, February 4, 2012, accessed October 30, 2018, www.un.org/press/en/2012/sc10536.doc.htm.
48. “Journalist Marie Colvin in Homs: ‘I Saw a Baby Die Today,’” BBC News website, February 21, 2012, www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-17120484/journalist-marie-colvin-in-homs-i-saw-a-baby-die-today.
49. Baba Amr field hospital doctor, opposition activist, and citizen journalist who were all there at the time, in discussion with the author, September 2015.
50. General Abdul-Kareem Salloum, head of the Homs branch of Military Intelligence, in discussion with the author, February 2014.
51. Human Rights Watch, Syria: New Satellite Images Show Homs Shelling, March 2, 2012, accessed October 30 2018, www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/02/syria-new-satellite-images-show-homs-shelling.
52. Ahmed al-Hamid, in discussion with the author, September 2015.
53. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
54. Human Rights Watch, Syria: New Satellite Images Show Homs Shelling, March 2, 2012, www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/02/syria-new-satellite-images-show-homs-shelling.
55. Baba Amr residents, in discussion with the author, June 2013.
56. “Brigadier General Essam Zahreddine’s Victory Poem from the Heart of Baba Amr,” YouTube video, 3:24, posted by “Maher Alassad,” September 8, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TJeJ_pDyDc.
Chapter 17 We Have to Win!
1. Sam Dagher, “Syrian Pilot Defects with Jet,” Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304765304577480281116912796.
2. Ibid.
3. Suleiman al-Khalidi and Khaled Yacoub Oweis, “Syrian Pilot Defects to Jordan, Gets Asylum,” Reuters, June 21, 2012, www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis/syrian-fighter-pilot-defects-to-jordan-gets-asylum-idUSBRE85D0IS20120621?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29.
4. “Al-Jazeera: Afaq Ahmed on the Defection of the Pilot Hassan Hamadah,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Al-Jazeera news channel, 4:35, posted by “Queen-Freedom7,” June 21, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJhj6pMr7Co.
5. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, August 2016.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Bassel Mereb, “The Sons of Major General Mustafa Tlass, Manaf and Firas, Have Announced Their Defection from the Syrian Regime and Their Families Flee to Dubai,” Beirut Observer website, March 11, 2012. https://www.beirutobserver.com/2012/03/2012-03-11-14-40-43/.
9. “The Traitor Mustafa Tlass Denies His Defection and That of His Children,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Lebanon-based Al-Jadeed TV, 2:08, posted by “Ziyad Ayoub,” March 13, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlVer8dtRok.
10. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
11. “Full Coverage of President Assad’s Visit to the Baba Amr Neighborhood and Homs,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Syrian state television, 8:21, posted by “ZeinasoftNetwork,” March 28, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB89WEuQ9fk.
12. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid., October 2014.
17. Defected Syrian army officer, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
18. Hassan Nasrallah, speech on December 6, 2011, transcript posted on Hezbollah’s Moqawama website, www.moqawama.org/essaydetails.php?eid=22614&cid=142.
19. Reuters, “Factbox: Referendum on Syria’s New Constitution,” February 25, 2012, www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-constitution-idUSTRE81O0BT20120225.
20. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
21. Ibid.
22. Eric Chevallier, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
23. Darwish, July 2017.
24. Chevallier, July 2017.
25. Elizabeth Flock, “US Closes Syrian Embassy: How Often Does the US Shutter Embassies?” Washington Post, February 6, 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/us-syrian-embassy-closes-another-diplomatic-shut-down-as-tensions-rise/2012/02/06/gIQAAsC4tQ_blog.html?utm_term=.cb3d86e90dd6.
26. “Kofi Annan’s Six-Point Plan for Syria,” Al-Jazeera English website, March 27, 2012, www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/2012327153111767387.html.
27. Crispian Balmer and Dominic Evans, “EU Slaps Sanctions on Assad’s Family; Mortars Hit Homs,” Reuters, March 23, 2012, www.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-eu-sanctions-idUKBRE82M0DN20120323.
28. Carnegie Middle East Center, “Group of Friends of the Syrian People: 1st Conference,” Reuters, May 1, 2012, www.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-eu-sanctions-idUKBRE82M0DN20120323.
29. Karen De Young, “Saudi, Qatari Plans to Arm Syrian Rebels Risk Overtaking Cautious Approach Favored by US,” Washington Post, March 1, 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/saudi-qatari-plans-to-arm-syrian-rebels-risk-overtaking-cautious-approach-favored-by-us/2012/03/01/gIQArWQflR_story.html?utm_term=.0b08ad1d4e13.
30. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Press Conference by the President,” The Obama White House Archives, March 6, 2012, accessed October 30, 2018, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/06/press-conference-president. At the time more than 6o percent of Americans believed that Obama should not intervene in Syria, according to a Pew survey.
31. Human Rights Council, Oral Update of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, HRC Twentieth Session, June 26 2012, www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session20/COI_OralUpdate_A.HRC.20.CRP.1.pdf.
32. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
33. “Mrs. Asma Al-Assad with the Paralympic Team at the Fayha,” YouTube video, 6:15, posted by “SyriaAlassad27,” June 21, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo0GQzkeeb4.
34. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, August 2016.
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid.
37. Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery, Commonwealth Graves Commission website, last accessed October 30, 2018, www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/91008/DAMASCUS%20COMMONWEALTH%20WAR%20CEMETERY.
38. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
39. “Bashar al-Assad’s interview with Iranian TV,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Syrian state television, 47:11, posted by “TheArabianTV,” June 29, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgu4-c7R_a0.
40. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
Chapter 18 Exiting
1. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Miriam Elder, “Syria will Receive Attack Helicopters from Russia, Kremlin Confirms,” The Guardian, June 28, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/28/syria-receive-attack-helicopter-risussia.
6. Fabius, December 2016.
7. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, August 2016.
8. “Kofi Annan Calls for Transitional Government in Syria,” BBC News website, June 30 2012, www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-18661074/kofi-annan-calls-for-transitional-government-in-syria.
9. “Action Group for Syria Final Communiqué,” United Nations website, June 30, 2012, www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Syria/FinalCommuniqueActionGroupforSyria.pdf.
10. “Concluding Remarks by Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan at the Meeting of Action Group on Syria—Geneva,” UN News Center, June 30, 2012.
11. Fabius, December 2016.
12. “Final Declaration Read by Kofi Annan, the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian Crisis,” UN Web TV, June 30, 2012, last accessed October 31, 2018, http://webtv.un.org/%20http:/www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/archive.html/watch/final-declaration-read-by-kofi-annan-the-joint-special-envoy-of-the-united-nations-and-the-league-of-arab-states-on-the-syrian-crisis/1714086833001/?term=&sort=date&page=3.
13. Ibid.
14. “Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation—Press Conference,” UN Web TV, June 30, 2012, http://webtv.un.org/search/sergey-lavrov-foreign-minister-of-the-russian-federation-press-conference/1714179474001/?term=2012-06-30&lan=English&cat=Media&sort=date.
15. “Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State—Press Conference,” UN Web TV, June 30, 2012, http://webtv.un.org/search/hillary-clinton-united-states-secretary-of-state-press-conference/1714099043001/?term=2012-06-30&lan=English&cat=Media&sort=date.
16. Fabius, December 2016.
17. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
18. Ibid.
19. Isaac Stone Fish, “The Massive Mural That Captures Syria’s Surprising Alliance with North Korea,” Foreign Policy, September 10, 2013, https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/09/10/the-massive-mural-that-captures-syrias-surprising-alliance-with-north-korea/.
20. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
21. “Assassination of Adnan Wehbeh, who Initiated the Revolution in Douma,” Al-Jazeera Net, June 25, 2012, www.aljazeera.net/news/reportsandinterviews/2012/6/25
22. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
23. Ibid. Wissam al-Hassan was later killed in October 2012 in a massive car bomb blast in Beirut, which his partisans and allies blamed on the Iran-Hezbollah-Assad regime axis.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. “Conférence des Amis du Peuple Syrien—Discours d’Ouverture de François Hollande (06.07.12)” [“Friends of the Syrian People Conference—Opening Remarks by François Hollande”], YouTube video, 13:18, posted by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, July 11, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=T15pX27l-rg.
28. “Al-Jazeera: Friends of the Syrian People Conference in Paris with Commentary—Part 2,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Al-Jazeera, 2:15:40, posted by “Freedomfornewsyria Forall,” July 6, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OGh7tNAXrM.
29. Hillary Rodham Clinton, “Remarks at the Friends of the Syrian People Ministerial Meeting,” US Department of State Archives, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton: 2009 to 2013, July 6, 2012, https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2012/07/194628.htm.
30. “Syria Manaf Tlass Defection ‘Hard Blow’ for Assad,” BBC News website, July 6, 2012, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18741423.
31. Fabius, December 2016.
32. Syrie L’État de Barbarie [Syria the Barbaric State] is the name of a book authored by Michel Seurat, a French sociologist and researcher with France’s National Center for Scientific Research. Seurat lived and worked in Syria at varying intervals between the early 1970s and early ’80s. He was later kidnapped in Beirut by Shiite militants linked to Iran and the Assad regime. He died in captivity in the mid ’80s.
33. Fabius, December 2016.
34. French official speaking on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
35. Ibid.
36. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
37. Ibid.
38. A person present at a meeting in Washington between an emissary of Assef Shawkat and the CIA, in discussion with the author, January 2019.
39. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
40. Ibid.
41. French official speaking on condition of anonymity, July 2017.
42. Georges Malbrunot, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
43. French official speaking on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
44. Sam Dagher, Nour Malas, and Joe Lauria, “Syria Rebels Take Battle to Capital’s Streets,” Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303933704577530253235890254.
45. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
46. Ibid.
47. “Fierce Clashes in the Midan Neighborhood, Live on Al-Jazeera,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Al-Jazeera, 10:24, posted by “MidanRevolution,” July 16, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNqml4NOL1I.
48. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
49. Sam Dagher and Nour Malas, “Bomb Strikes Syria Leader’s Inner Circle,” Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2012.
50. Doctor at the Chami Hospital in Damascus, in discussion with the author, December 2014.
51. “Solemn Funeral Ceremony for the Nation’s Martyrs, the Heroes,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Syrian state television, 5:01, posted by “SyrianTVOfficial,” July 20, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TJTcKpuu6M.
52. “The Funeral of the Martyred General Assef Shawkat in the Village of Al-Mahdahlah in Tartous,” YouTube video, 0:47, posted by “Tartous Now,” July 27, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjP0Kd9la2Y.
53. Sam Dagher and Nour Malas, “Syrians Flee Capital as Regime Hits Back,” Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444464304577536683429928596.
54. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
55. French official speaking on condition of anonymity, July 2017.
Chapter 19 No Role for You
1. “Manaf Tlass Performing Umrah after the Announcement of His Defection,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Al Arabiya Channel, 0:15, posted by “ksadalel,” July 24, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYO1yXtd45E.
2. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid. December 2018.
5. “Full Statement by Brigadier General Manaf Tlass Officially Announcing His Defection,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Al Arabiya Channel, 2:53, posted by “Sameer AlHariri,” July 24, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEmORJ5f2YI.
6. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
7. Eric Chevallier, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
8. Ibid.
9. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. “War Crimes Complaint against Syria Ex-Minister in France,” Ahram Online reprint of a story by Agence France-Presse, March 18, 2012, http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/37052/World/Region/War-crimes-complaint-against-Syria-exminister-in-F.aspx.
13. Michel Duclos, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
14. Ibid.
15. “Prophet Mohammed Cartoons Controversy: Timeline,” The Telegraph, May 4, 2015, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11341599/Prophet-Muhammad-cartoons-controversy-timeline.html
16. French official who spoke on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
17. Mohammad Nassar, “Businessman Firas Tlass: 45 Officers from My Family Defected from the Regime… And My Father Is ‘Sad and Silent,’” Asharq Al-Aawsat, July 13, 2012, http://archive.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=4&issueno=12281&article=686212#.W9mL8Kd7G01.
18. A posting by Bahjat Suleiman on his Facebook page titled Abu Al-Majd’s Diary, www.facebook.com/people/100003780874464
19. “Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s Interview with Addounia Channel,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Addounia Channel, 1:01:56, posted by “RT Arabic,” August 29, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=55RLmVsFt6s.
20. Manaf Tlass, January 2016.
21. Ibid.
22. Riad Seif, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
23. Burhan Ghalyoun, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
24. Ibid.
25. Syrian opposition figure who spoke on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
26. Defected Syrian army officer turned rebel leader, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
27. Manaf Tlass, November 2016.
28. Ibid.
29. Member of Syrian rebel leadership council, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
30. Michaela Wiegel, “Syrische Deserteure: Im Salon Von ‘Madame O.’” [“Syrian Deserter: In ‘Madam O’s’ Salon”], Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, July 15, 2012, www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/naher-osten/syrische-deserteure-im-salon-von-madame-o-11821152.html.
31. “Michel Kilo Says Moscow Isn’t Wedded to Assad,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Al-Jazeera Channel, 2:20, posted by Al-Jazeera Arabic, July 9, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8MkgN3kR5A.
32. Phil Black, “Russia Protesters Demand Putin’s Resignation,” CNN website, June 12, 2012, https://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/12/world/europe/russia-protest/index.html.
33. Paul Stronski, Russia’s Fight in Syria Reflects the Kremlin’s Fears at Home, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 29, 2015, http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/09/29/russia-s-fight-in-syria-reflects-kremlin-s-fears-at-home-pub-61439.
34. Presidential Executive Office (Russia), “Meeting with Russian Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives in International Organizations,” The Kremlin’s official website, July 9, 2012, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/15902.
35. Ibid.
36. Federica Saini Fasanotti, “Russia and Libya: A Brief History of an On-Again-Off-Again Friendship,” The Brookings Institution, Order from Chaos Blog, September 1, 2016, www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2016/09/01/russia-and-libya-a-brief-history-of-an-on-again-off-again-friendship/.
37. Dmitri Trenin, The Mythical Alliance: Russia’s Syria Policy, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 12, 2013, http://carnegie.ru/2013/02/12/mythical-alliance-russia-s-syria-policy-pub-50909.
38. “Security Council Fails to Adopt Draft Resolution on Syria That Would Have Threatened Sanctions, Due to Negative Votes of China, Russian Federation,” July 19, 2012, United Nations website, July 19, 2012, www.un.org/press/en/2012/sc10714.doc.htm.
39. Rick Gladstone, “Resigning as Envoy to Syria, Annan Casts Wide Blame,” New York Times, August 2, 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/world/middleeast/annan-resigns-as-syria-peace-envoy.html?mcubz=1.
40. Michael R. Gordon, Eric Schmitt, and Tim Arango, “Flow of Arms to Syria through Iraq Persists, to US Dismay,” New York Times, December 1, 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/world/middleeast/us-is-stumbling-in-effort-to-cut-syria-arms-flow.html?mtrref=undefined.
41. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
42. “Assad: We’re Determined to Cleanse Syria from Terrorists and Jalili: We Won’t Permit the Toppling of the Axis of Resistance,” Hezbollah’s Al-Manar website, August 7, 2012, http://archive.almanar.com.lb/article.php?id=281691.
43. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
44. Wallada Shabouk, Aleppo protester and activist, in discussion with the author, March 2014.
45. Ibid.
46. Mohammad Naway, former secretary general of the Aleppo Chamber of Industry, in discussion with the author, March 2014.
47. Sam Dagher, “War-Crimes Fears Raised in Syrian City,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443477104577552952050181714.
48. Aleppo residents and witnesses, in discussion with the author, March 2014.
49. Mark Landler, “Obama Threatens Force against Syria,” New York Times, August 20, 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/world/middleeast/obama-threatens-force-against-syria.html.
50. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
51. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President to the White House Press Corps,” The Obama White House Archives, August 20, 2012, last accessed October 31, 2018, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/20/remarks-president-white-house-press-corps.
52. Human Rights Watch, Syria: Government Attacking Breadlines, Civilian Deaths at Bakeries Are War Crimes, August 30, 2012, www.hrw.org/news/2012/08/30/syria-government-attacking-bread-lines.
53. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hard Choices (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014), 462–63.
54. Luis Ramirez, “Panetta: No Plans for Syria No-Fly Zone,” Voice of America, August 14, 2012, www.voanews.com/a/panetta-no-decision-on-syria-no-fly-zone/1485709.html.
55. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
56. Ibid.
57. Yasmine Hakim, Daraya activist and witness, in discussion with the author, August 2018.
58. Janine de Giovanni, “Syria Crisis: Daraya Massacre Leaves a Ghost Town Still Counting its Dead,” The Guardian, September 7, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/07/syria-daraya-massacre-ghost-town.
59. “Al-Jazeera Documentary: Daraya, Brothers of Grapes and Blood,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast on the Al-Jazeera Channel, 27:53, posted by “The Syrian 92,” October 27, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSOa1sIuh6U&feature=plcp.
60. “Addounia Channel’s Report on the Daraya Massacre 25/8/2012 Presented by Micheline Azar,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Addounia Channel, 13:15, posted by “HR Monitor,” September 9, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRjbLW5uBXk.
61. Ibid.
62. “Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s Interview with Addounia Channel,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Addounia Channel, 1:01:56, posted by “RT Arabic,” August 29, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=55RLmVsFt6s.
Chapter 20 Holy War: At Your Service, O Bashar!
1. Yitzhak Nakash, The Shi’is of Iraq (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994), 141.
2. Ibid., 144–45.
3. Vali Nasr, The Shia Revival (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006), 132–33.
4. Sam Dagher, “Iraqi Shiites Mark Holy Day under High Guard,” New York Times, January 7, 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/africa/07iht-iraq.4.19165325.html.
5. Maher Jatta, aka Abu Ajeeb al-Wahesh (“the Monster”), in discussion with the author, April 2013.
6. Ibid.
7. “Sayed Hassan Nasrallah’s Speech about the Shrine and Area of Seyda Zeinab, Peace Be upon Her,” YouTube video, 7:58, posted by “Saenbnews,” April 30, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW_YvH9RC3Q.
8. Sam Dagher, “Fighters, Flowing to Syria, Guard Shiites,” Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323463704578497021387416606.
9. Joe Parkinson and Sam Dagher, “Iraq Lashes Out at Turkey as Sunni–Shiite Rift Grows,” Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203735304577165140234013650.
10. Sam Dagher and Ali A. Nabhan, “Iraq Blasts Point to Spillover,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443570904577545231575003126.
11. Noureddin Labbad, former Syria envoy to Iraq, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
12. Charles Lister, Profiling Jabhat al-Nusra, Brookings Project on US Relations with the Islamic World, no. 24, July 2016, www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/iwr_20160728_profiling_nusra.pdf.
13. Bill Roggio, “Al Nusrah Front Claims Yet Another Suicide Attack in Syria,” FDD’s Long War Journal website, December 4, 2012, www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/al_nusrah_front_clai_9.php.
14. Resident of Damascus Neighborhood of Qaboun, in discussion with the author, October 2012.
15. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hard Choices (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014), 463.
16. Defected Syrian army officer turned rebel leader, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
17. Suhair al-Atassi, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
18. Moaz al-Khatib, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
19. Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding-Smith, “How Qatar Seized Control of the Syrian Revolution,” Financial Times, May 17, 2013, www.ft.com/content/f2d9bbc8-bdbc-11e2-890a-00144feab7de.
20. “Qatar Spending $500m a Week on World Cup Project,” Agence France-Presse dispatch published in The Guardian, February 8, 2017, www.theguardian.com/football/2017/feb/08/qatar-spending-500m-a-week-on-world-cup-projects-2022.
21. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “President Obama Holds a Press Conference,” The Obama White House Archives, November 14, 2012, accessed October 31, 2018, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/video/2012/11/14/president-obama-holds-press-conference#transcript.
22. Al-Khatib, July 2017.
23. Ibid.
24. Riad Seif, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
25. Defected Syrian army officer turned rebel commander, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Al-Khatib, August 2017.
29. Defected Syrian army officer turned rebel commander, August 2017.
30. Western official involved in efforts to support political and armed wings of the Syrian opposition, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
31. Defected Syrian army officer who took part in meetings in Ankara between CIA and intelligence officials from countries supporting the rebels, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. “Number of Syrian Refugees in Neighboring Countries Has Tripled in Three Months—UN,” UN News website, October 2, 2012, https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/10/422542-number-syrian-refugees-neighbouring-countries-has-tripled-three-months-un.
36. Nick Cumming-Bruce, “More than 60,000 Have Died in Syrian Conflict, UN Says,” New York Times, January 2, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/world/middleeast/syria-60000-united-nations.html?mcubz=1.
37. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
38. David D. Kirkpatrick, “A Deadly Mix in Benghazi,” New York Times, December 28, 2013, www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/benghazi/index.html#/?chapt=0.
39. Ibid.
40. Charles Levinson and Sam Dagher, “Egyptians Swarm Palace in Protest,” Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323401904578158680760961970.
41. Elizabeth Dickinson, “UAE, Saudi Arabia Express Support for Egyptian Military’s Removal of Morsi,” The National, July 4, 2013, www.thenational.ae/world/mena/uae-saudi-arabia-express-support-for-egyptian-military-s-removal-of-morsi-1.289085.
42. Lister, Profiling Jabhat al-Nusra.
43. “Al-Furqan Media presents a new audio message from the Islamic State of Iraq’s Shaykh Abu Bakr al-H.ussayni al-Qurayshi al-Baghdadi: ‘Announcement of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham,’ Jihadology Blog, April 9, 2013, https://jihadology.net/2013/04/09/al-furqan-media-presents-a-new-audio-message-from-the-islamic-state-of-iraqs-shaykh-abu-bakr-al-h.ussayni-al-qurayshi-al-baghdadi-announcement-of-the-islamic-state-of-iraq-an/.
44. “President Assad’s Speech at the Damascus Opera House, 6-1-2013,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Syrian state television, 55:41, posted by “Syria Alassad,” January 8, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoxFNmdX2JY.
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid.
47. “Watching Richard III with Bashar Al-Assad,” YouTube video, 2:55, posted by “Slate,” June 17, 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4rUG2bcPHI.
Chapter 21 The Clan’s Knights and Soothsayers
1. “Virtual Tour Villa Madama,” Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation website, www.esteri.it/mae/en/sala_stampa/archiviomultimedia/audiovisivi/ta_virtuale_villa_madama_1.html.
2. “Remarks with Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi and Syrian Opposition Council Chairman Moaz Al-Khatib,” US Department of State Archives, Secretary of State John Kerry: 2013 to 2017, February 28, 2013, https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/02/205457.htm.
3. Lakhdar Brahimi, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
4. “Profile: Lakhdar Brahimi,” BBC News website, September 3, 2012, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-19463317.
5. Brahimi, December 2016.
6. Raghida Dergham, “Damaascus Accuses Brahimi of Siding With the ‘Conspirators,’” Al Hayat, January 11, 2013, http://www.alhayat.com/article/1575048.
7. “The West ‘Prays’ Russia and China Will Continue Blocking Syria Action,” RT (Russia Today) website, December 22, 2012, www.rt.com/news/syria-intervention-chemical-lavrov-651/.
8. Ibid.
9. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “President Obama Holds a Press Conference,” The Obama White House Archives, November 14, 2012, accessed November 1, 2018, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/video/2012/11/14/president-obama-holds-press-conference#transcript.
10. Sam Dagher, “What Iran Is Really Up To in Syria,” The Atlantic, February 14, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/iran-hezbollah-united-front-syria/553274/.
11. Brahimi, December 2016.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. “Syrian Peace Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Talks with Assad,” BBC News website, December 24, 2012, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20835332.
15. Brahimi, December 2016.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Mohammad Jaber, in discussion with the author, March 2013.
19. Aleppo Conflict Timeline—2013: Encircling the Regime in Aleppo (January–March), Aleppo Project website, Shattuck Center on Conflict, Negotiation, and Recovery at the Central European University’s School of Public Policy, last accessed November 1, 2018, www.thealeppoproject.com/aleppo-conflict-timeline-2013/.
20. “Eng Subtitles: Patients Explain Their Symptoms after Inhaling a Gas Sprayed by Syrian Forces in Homs,” YouTube video, 7:23, posted by “ANA Press,” December 23, 2102, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrAvea8_-PU.
21. “Obama Warns Al-Assad against Chemical Weapons, Declares ‘The World Is Watching,’” CNN website, December 4, 2012, https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/03/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html.
22. Ibid.
23. Dana Hughes, Luis Martinez, and Alexander Marquardt, “Syria’s Assad May Be Considering Using Chemical Weapons, Panetta Says,” ABC News website, December 6, 2012, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/syrias-assad-chemical-weapons-panetta/story?id=17893409.
24. “West Faces Dangerous Game Choosing ‘Bad’ vs. ‘Acceptable’ Terrorism—Lavrov (Exclusive),” YouTube video, 27:45, posted by “Russia Today,” December 23, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=wXP5bhIfagU.
25. “Calls for Inquiry into Syria ‘Chemical Weapon Attack,’” BBC News, March 20, 2013.
26. UN General Assembly Security Council, Report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, 7–8, December 13, 2013, www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2013_735.pdf.
27. Jaber, March 2013.
28. Ibid.
29. Latakia residents, in discussion with the author, August 2014.
30. Jaber, March 2013.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. Author’s interviews with militiamen and visit to Jaber brothers’ steel plant, August 2014.
36. Fadwa Mahmoud (Abdelaziz Al-Khayer’s wife), in discussion with the author, April 2016.
37. National Coordination Body for Democratic Change was established in June 2011.
38. Mahmoud, April 2016.
39. Jaber, March 2013.
40. Brigadier General Jamal Younes, commander of the 555th Regiment of the Syrian Army’s Fourth Division, in discussion with the author, August 2014.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.
43. “Luna Al-Chebel Attacks Al-Jazeera,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast on Syria’s Addounia TV Channel, 14:59, posted by “plasmajo,” April 27, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZU9svhqQE8.
44. “Syrianpresidency: Welcome to the Official Instagram Account for the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic,” Instagram.com, www.instagram.com/p/_ZdIW1IzVK/?taken-by=syrianpresidency.
45. Ibid., www.instagram.com/p/xmAIc4ozbg/?taken-by=syrianpresidency.
46. “Miladhannoun: Hairdresser and Makeup Artist, Damascus, Syria!” Instagram.com, www.instagram.com/p/BFnzI-AJZIr/?hl=en&taken-by=miladhannoun.
47. A friend of Milad Hannoun, in discussion with the author, May 2014.
48. “Mrs. Asma Al-Assad with the Mothers of Martyrs of the Syrian Army in Damascus,” YouTube video, original video produced by Asma al-Assad’s media team, 13:24, posted by “Zeinasoftnetwork,” April 6. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-eIktOiKP4.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid.
51. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
52. Wissam Tajo (Khaled Mahjoub’s associate), in discussion with the author, January 2013.
53. Khaled Mahjoub, in discussion with the author, March 2013.
54. Jeremy Bowen, “Syrian Rebel-Held Areas Fear Attack,” BBC News video report, December 7, 2012, www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-20649670/syrian-rebel-held-areas-fear-attack.
55. Ibid.
56. Khaled Mahjoub, “Letter from Khaled Mahjoub: Robert Fisk’s Untrue Accusations about Me,” The Independent, October 7, 2013, www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters/letter-from-khaled-mahjoub-robert-fisks-untrue-accusations-about-me-8864876.html.
57. Tajo, March 2013.
58. Ibid.
59. Terry Moran, “Damascus Blast: Crater Full of Carnage and a Child-Size Body Bag,” ABC News website, February 21, 2013, https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/damascus-blast-crater-full-of-carnage-and-a-child-size-body-bag/.
60. “Shaaban, Hassoun Meet Delegation from European Solidarity Front for Syria,” Syrian Arab News Agency, May 3, 2106, https://sana.sy/en/?p=76315.
61. “Syria’s Mufti Threatens to Respond to the West with Suicide Bombers,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Syrian State TV, 1:44, posted by “Russia Today Arabic,” October 11, 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRoQ6Sagtw.
62. Nir Rosen, “A Conversation with Grand Mufti Hassoun,” Al-Jazeera English, October 3, 2011, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/10/201110312588957185.html.
63. Ben Hubbard, “A Nun Lends a Voice of Skepticism on the Use of Poison Gas by Syria,” New York Times, September 21, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/world/middleeast/seeking-credible-denial-on-poison-gas-russia-and-syria-turn-to-nun.html.
64. Father Paulo Dall’Oglio, in discussion with the author, July 2012.
65. Observations recorded by the author between November 2012 and August 2014.
66. Ibid.
67. Ibid.
68. “Médias: Une Nouvelle Chaîne Panarabe à Capitaux Syro-Iraniens” [“Media: A New Pan-Arab Channel with Syrian-Iranian Funding”], Courrier International reprint of an article by L’Orient—Le Jour, June 7, 2012, www.courrierinternational.com/article/2012/06/07/une-nouvelle-chaine-panarabe-a-capitaux-syro-iraniens.
69. “Interview with Bashar al-Assad: Europe’s Backyard Would Become a Terrorist Haven,” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, June 17, 2013, www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/naher-osten/f-a-z-interview-with-bashar-al-assad-europe-s-backyard-would-become-a-terrorist-haven-12225367-p2.html.
70. Lyse Doucet, “Syrian Angst over Foreign Rebel Fighters,” BBC News, June 17, 2013.
71. Doucet later told the author in an email in January 2019: “I think we must have been told that they had been detained in various operations. I don’t remember hearing that they had been rounded up - not from Khaled, nor from the Tunisian human rights lawyers who came to Damascus, or the mothers.”
72. Mohammad Munir al-Faqir, a Syrian opposition activist who was jailed for a period with the Tunisians, in discussion with the author, November 2014. Two other Syrian activists, who did not know Faqir but overlapped with the Tunisians in prison, also confirmed that the Tunisians had been tortured by the mukhabarat and made to confess they were jihadists.
73. Doucet, “Syrian Angst over Foreign Rebel Fighters.”
74. “The Sex Jihad Scandals in Syria,” YouTube video, taken from a news broadcast by Iran’s Al-Alam TV station, 3:56, posted by “ON1TW2,” April 27, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd4bkUliULI.
75. Adam B. Ellick and Adam Westbrook, “Operation Infektion, Russian Disinformation: From Cold War to Kanye,” The New York Times, November 12, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/opinion/russia-meddling-disinformation-fake-news-elections.html.
76. Observations recorded by the author between November 2012 and August 2014.
77. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
78. Ibid.
79. Ibid.
80. Al-Faqir, August 2017. Faqir was a prominent Damascus-based opposition activist who was jailed at the start of the uprising in March 2011 for about a month. He was then detained in March 2012 and was severely tortured in various mukhabarat prisons and was taken twice to the 601 military hospital but was lucky to survive. He was among those freed in a prisoner swap between the regime and opposition in January 2014. He has been living in Turkey ever since.
81. These were part of the archive of more than 28,000 photos smuggled out of Syria by the military defector code-named Caesar.
82. Darwish, July 2017.
83. Ibid.
Chapter 22 Macabre Coronation
1. “Oath-Taking Ceremony for His Excellency President Bashar Al-Assad and His Speech to the Audience,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Syrian State Television, 1:22:33, posted by “Shaamnews 100,” July 16, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xBWS1qES6Q.
2. “Full Video: Vladimir Putin’s Presidential Inauguration Ceremony in Kremlin,” YouTube video, 43:32, posted by “Russia Today,” May 7, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNiWnSOsAnE.
3. “Oath-Taking Ceremony for His Excellency President Bashar Al-Assad and His Speech to the Audience.”
4. Naseer Al-Ajeeli, “The Nouri Mosque… Site of Daesh’s First ‘Sermon,’ Could It Witness the Organization’s Demise?” Al Arabiya, March 8, 2017, www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/iraq/2017/03/08
.html.
5. “ISIS Spokesman Declares Caliphate, Rebrands Group as ‘Islamic State,’” Site Intelligence Group website, June 29, 2014, https://news.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-News/isis-spokesman-declares-caliphate-rebrands-group-as-islamic-state.html.
6. Sam Dagher, “Syria Elections a Forum to Celebrate Assad,” Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/pro-assad-voters-rally-as-syria-holds-elections-1401805888.
7. Ned Parker, Isabel Coles, and Raheem Salman, “Special Report: How Mosul Fell—An Iraqi General Disputes Baghdad’s Story,” Reuters, October 14, 2014, www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-gharawi-special-report/special-report-how-mosul-fell-an-iraqi-general-disputes-baghdads-story-idUSKCN0I30Z820141014.
8. Commander of the Ya’arubiya border crossing, in discussion with the author in Damascus, March 2013.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Joshua Eaton, “US Military Now Says ISIS Leader Was Held in Notorious Abu Ghraib Prison,” The Intercept, August 25, 2016, https://theintercept.com/2016/08/25/u-s-military-now-says-isis-leader-was-held-in-notorious-abu-ghraib-prison/.
12. “Al-Hayat Media Center Presents a New Video Message from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham: ‘The End of Sykes Picot,’” Jihadology website, June 29, 2014, https://jihadology.net/2014/06/29/al-h.ayat-media-center-presents-a-new-video-message-from-the-islamic-state-of-iraq-and-al-sham-the-end-of-sykes-picot/.
13. “Oath-Taking Ceremony for His Excellency President Bashar Al-Assad and His Speech to the Audience.”
14. Ibid.
15. “President Al-Assad Receives Congratulatory Cables from Leaders of Myanmar and Abkhazia,” Syrian Arab News Agency, June 11, 2014, https://sana.sy/en/?p=2994.
16. “US Senator to President Al-Assad: Presidential Elections Sweeping Victory to Syrian People,” Syrian Arab News Agency, June 11, 2014, https://sana.sy/en/?p=3043.
17. Elliot Hannon, “Virginia State Senator Sends Syrian President Assad Supportive Thank You Letter,” Slate, May 27, 2014, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/05/virginia-state-senator-sends-syrias-assad-a-thank-you-letter.html.
18. Sam Dagher, “Syrian Nuns Held by Rebels for Months Released,” Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/no-headline-available-1394378923.
19. “More Than 191,000 People Killed in Syria with ‘No End in Sight’—UN,” UN News website, August 22, 2014, https://news.un.org/en/story/2014/08/475652-more-191000-people-killed-syria-no-end-sight-un#.Wd-faDOB3x5.
20. Sam Dagher, “Assad’s Campaign for Re-Election Aims to Show Resilience,” Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/assads-campaign-for-reelection-aims-to-show-resilience-1401406727.
21. Hassan al-Nouri (one of the two men picked by the regime to be Bashar Al-Assad’s token challengers), in discussion with the author, May 2014.
22. Sam Dagher, “Syria Elections a Forum to Celebrate Assad,” Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/pro-assad-voters-rally-as-syria-holds-elections-1401805888.
23. Ibid.
24. Rudeynah Baalbaky, in discussion with the author, June 2014.
25. Sam Dagher, “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Declared Election Winner,” Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/syrian-president-bashar-al-assad-declared-election-winner-1401911413.
26. Pro Bashar tribal sheiks from the provinces of Deir Ezzour and Hasakeh, in discussion with the author in Damascus, August 2014.
27. Iraqi politician close to Bashar al-Assad and Iran speaking on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, September 2014.
28. Hezbollah field commander in Homs neighborhood of Khalidiya after its recapture from rebels, in discussion with the author, August 2013.
29. Sam Dagher, “In Qusayr, Signs of an Intensifying Holy War,” Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324069104578529620749572106.
30. Sam Dagher, “Violence Spirals as Assad Gains,” Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324904004578536872947748426.
31. Sam Dagher, “In Syria, Signs of Civilian Massacre,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324354704578637923366819536.
32. Thomas Hegghammer and Aaron Y. Zelin, “How Syria’s Civil War Became a Holy Crusade,” Foreign Affairs, posted on the website of the Washington Institute, July 7, 2013, www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/how-syrias-civil-war-became-a-holy-crusade.
33. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Statement by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes on Syrian Chemical Weapons Use,” June 13, 2013, The Obama White House Archives, last accessed November 1, 2018. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/13/statement-deputy-national-security-advisor-strategic-communications-ben-.
34. Khaled Walyo, Latakia rebel fighter who was present during speech made by Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, in discussion with the author, March 2016.
35. Human Rights Watch, “You Can Still See Their Blood”: Executions, Indiscriminate Shootings, and Hostage Taking by Opposition Forces in Latakia Countryside, October 10, 2013, www.hrw.org/report/2013/10/10/you-can-still-see-their-blood/executions-indiscriminate-shootings-and-hostage.
36. Walyo, March 2016.
37. Residents of Blouta, one of the Latakia countryside villages that was attacked, in discussion with the author, December 2013.
38. “Visit by General Salim Idriss to the Commander of the Suqour Al-Sahel Brigade Saeed Tarboush,” YouTube video, 2:10, posted by “The Media Office of the Middle-Western Front,” August 12, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnMI4lZq3Jw.
39. “Behind the News, Details of Targeting Bashar Al-Assad’s Convoy, with Sheikh Zahran Alloush and Safwat Al-Zayat,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Al-Jazeera Channel, 21:29, posted by “Syrian4allNews,” August 8, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6zebRXDwZ4.
40. Ibid.
41. Defected Syrian army officer collaborating with the CIA, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
42. Syrian army intelligence officer, in discussion with the author, August 2013.
43. Alawite Syrian army officer, in discussion with the author, December 2013.
44. Human Rights Watch, Attacks on Ghouta, Analysis of Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria, September 10, 2013, www.hrw.org/report/2013/09/10/attacks-ghouta/analysis-alleged-use-chemical-weapons-syria.
45. Rescuer in the aftermath of chemical-weapons attack, in discussion with the author, August 2015.
46. Human Rights Watch, Attacks on Ghouta.
47. Observations recorded by the author, who was in Damascus on the day of the chemical-weapons attack.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. “Syrian Information Minister Omran Al-Zoubi Denies Using Chemical Weapons in the Ghouta,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast on Al-Mayadeen TV, 6:13, posted by “SYRPRESS,” August 21, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nINsa7sIxAQ.
51. Syrian Army Officer in Eastern Damascus, in discussion with the author, August 2013.
52. Observations recorded by the author, who was in Damascus on the day of the chemical-weapons attack.
53. Ibid.
54. UN humanitarian agency official based at the Damascus Four Seasons, in discussion with the author, August 2013.
55. Eyewitness and former Ghouta resident, in discussion with the author, August 2015.
56. “Bashar Al-Assad: All Contracts Signed with Russia are Implemented,” Izvestia, August 26, 2013, https://iz.ru/news/556048.
57. Giulia Prati, Between Propaganda and Public Relations: An Analysis of Bashar al-Assad’s Digital Communications Campaign, Journal of International Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, March 9, 2015, https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/online-articles/between-propaganda-and-public-relations-analysis-bashar-al-assad’s-digital.
58. US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Computer Hacking Conspiracy Charges Unsealed against Members of the Syrian Electronic Army, Two Fugitives Believed to Be in Syria Added to FBI Cyber’s Most Wanted,” March 22, 2016, www.justice.gov/opa/pr/computer-hacking-conspiracy-charges-unsealed-against-members-syrian-electronic-army.
59. Christine Haughney and Nicole Perlroth, “Times Site Is Disrupted in Attacks by Hackers,” New York Times, August 27, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/08/28/business/media/hacking-attack-is-suspected-on-times-web-site.html.
60. Shane Harris, “How Did Syria’s Hacker Army Suddenly Get So Good?” Foreign Policy, September 4, 2013, https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/09/04/how-did-syrias-hacker-army-suddenly-get-so-good/.
61. Simone Foxman and Matt Phillips, “Markets Briefly Plunge after AP’s Hacked Twitter Account Falsely Reports White House Explosions,” Quartz, April 23, 2013, https://qz.com/77413/markets-briefly-crash-after-aps-hacked-twitter-account-falsely-reports-white-house-explosions/. “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured,” SEA posted in April 2013 from AP’s official Twitter account with nearly two million followers. This momentarily erased nearly $136 billion in US stock market value before the fake tweet was discovered and, within minutes, countered.
62. John Kerry, “Statement on Syria,” August 30, 2013, US Department of State Archive website, accessed November 1, 2018, https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/213668.htm.
63. Andrea Shalal-Esa, “Sixth US Ship Now in Eastern Mediterranean ‘As Precaution,’” Reuters, August 31, 2013, www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-ships/sixth-u-s-ship-now-in-eastern-mediterranean-as-precaution-idUSBRE97U01Z20130831.
64. In the case of Iraq, Saddam Hussein produced large quantities of chemical weapons when he was fighting an eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s with Western and Arab support. When these powers turned against him after his invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saddam was ordered to destroy his chemical weapons arsenal per a UN Security Council resolution. The United States continued to accuse Saddam of hiding some of these weapons, and in the lead up to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the George W. Bush administration claimed it had intelligence that supposedly proved Saddam was working to weaponize his chemical stockpiles and also reconstitute Iraq’s nuclear program. US ally Britain went further by claiming Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes after the issuing of an order by Saddam to do so. After the invasion, all these claims proved to be false.
65. John Kerry, “Statement on Syria,” August 30, 2013, US Department of State Archive website, accessed November 1, 2018, https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/213668.htm.
66. Ibid.
67. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
68. Ibid.
69. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by President Obama and the Presidents of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia,” August 30, 2013, The Obama White House Archives, last accessed November 1, 2018, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/30/remarks-president-obama-and-presidents-estonia-lithuania-and-latvia.
70. Fabius, December 2016.
71. French official speaking on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
72. Fabius, December 2016.
73. Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme, Un Président Ne Devrait Pas Dire Ça: Les Secrets d’un Quinquennat [A President Must Not Say That: Secrets of a Five-Year Mandate], (Paris: Éditions Stock, 2016), 459.
74. Ibid.
75. Ibid., 463.
76. Ibid., 459.
77. Ibid., 464.
78. Ibid.
79. Ibid., 465.
80. Fabius, December 2016.
81. Jeffrey Goldberg, “The Obama Doctrine: The US President Talks Through His Hardest Decisions about America’s Role in the World,” The Atlantic, April 2016, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/.
82. Laurent Fabius, 37 Quai D’Orsay: Diplomatie Française 2012–2016 (Paris: Éditions Plon, 2016), 94.
83. Observations recorded by the author, who was in Damascus for several weeks after the chemical-weapons attack.
84. Ibid.
85. Ibid.
86. Mohammad Munir al-Faqir, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
87. Julian E. Barnes, “Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Marines Website,” Wall Street Journal, September 2, 2013, https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/09/02/syrian-electronic-army-hacks-marines-website/.
88. Bashar Al-Assad, interview by Georges Malbrunot, Le Figaro, September 2, 2013, www.lefigaro.fr/international/2013/09/02/01003-20130902ARTFIG00569-assad-s-warning-to-france.php.
89. Ibid.
90. Ibid.
91. Haroon Siddique, “Hafez al-Assad Facebook Post: ‘I Just Want Them to Attack Sooo Much,’” The Guardian, August 30, 2013, www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/30/syria-facebook-hafez-al-assad-taunts-us.
92. Sam Dagher, “Syrian Official Seeks Dialogue, Warns against US Action,” Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/syrian-official-seeks-dialogue-warns-against-us-action-1378234131.
93. Sam Dagher, “As Syria Debate Grows, Locals Hoard Food,” Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/as-syria-debate-grows-locals-hoard-food-1378668445.
94. Sam Dagher, “In Damascus, Fears of Attack, Aftermath,” Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/in-damascus-fears-of-attack-aftermath-1377733377.
95. “Mother Agnes Exposes ‘Massacre Marketing’ in Ghouta ‘Gas Attacks’ in Syria, 2013,” Maryakub.net, September 8, 2016, www.maryakub.net/2016/09/08/mother-agnes-exposes-massacre-marketing-in-ghouta-gas-attacks-in-syria-2013/.
96. Fabius, December 2016.
97. Ibid.
98. “Bashar Al-Assad: All Contracts Signed with Russia Are Implemented,” Izvestia, August 26, 2013, https://iz.ru/news/556048.
99. Michael R. Gordon and Steven Lee Myers, “Obama Calls Russia Offer on Syria Possible ‘Breakthrough,’” New York Times, September 9, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/world/middleeast/kerry-says-syria-should-hand-over-all-chemical-arms.html.
100. Sam Dagher, “Syria Saw Initial Diplomacy as Gain,” Wall Street Journal, September 10, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/syria-sees-latest-diplomacy-as-victory-1378844557?tesla=y.
101. “Security Council Requires Scheduled Destruction of Syria’s Chemical Weapons, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2118 (2013),” United Nations website, September 27, 2103, www.un.org/press/en/2013/sc11135.doc.htm.
102. Sam Dagher, “Syrian Regime Chokes Off Food to Town That Was Gassed,” Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2013, www.wsj.com/articles/syrian-regime-chokes-off-food-to-town-that-was-gassed-1380767441.
103. Razan Zeitouneh, “The West Is Wrong on Syria,” Souria Houria, October 18, 2013, https://souriahouria.com/the-west-is-wrong-on-syria-by-razan-zaitouneh/.
104. Lakhdar Brahimi, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
105. Fabius, December 2016.
Chapter 23 A Game of Nations
1. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
2. Manaf Tlass, August 2016.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Defected Syrian army officer who worked closely with the CIA, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
6. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
7. Paris-based Tlass family acquaintance who was once with Manaf and his father at one of these lunch outings, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
8. Mustafa Tlass’ caregiver, in discussion with the author, December 2018.
9. Thala al-Khair, in discussion with the author, October 2016.
10. Manaf Tlass, October 2014.
11. Defected Syrian army officer turned rebel leader from Manaf Tlass’s hometown of Al-Rastan, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
12. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
13. Ibid.
14. “Russia Today Correspondent: Lavrov Was Briefed on Tlass’s Positions Regarding What Was Happening in Syria,” RT (Russia Today), Arabic language service, March 1, 2013. https://arabic.rt.com/news/609046
15. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Julian E. Barnes and Sam Dagher, “US Airdrops Weapons and Supplies to Besieged Syrian Kurds in Kobani,” Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/us-airdrops-weapons-and-supplies-to-besieged-syrian-kurds-in-kobani-1413761080.
19. Damascus-based official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), an Iraqi Kurdish party close to both Iran and the United States, in discussion with the author, July 2014. The PUK, whose longtime former leader Jalal Talabani had warm ties with the Assad family and at the same time was hailed as an ally by Washington, helped broker the deal between Iran’s head of foreign covert operations Qasem Soleimani, PKK leader Cemil Bayik, and Bashar al-Assad and his mukhabarat.
20. Syrian Kurdish activists based in northeast Syria, in discussion with the author, October 2014.
21. Sam Dagher, “Kurds Fight Islamic State to Claim a Piece of Syria,” Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/kurds-fight-islamic-state-to-claim-a-piece-of-syria-1415843557.
22. John Kerry, interview by Kim Ghattas of BBC News, June 24, 2014, US Department of State Archive website, accessed November 2, 2018, https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/06/228345.htm.
23. Richard Barrett, Foreign Fighters in Syria, Soufan Group website, June 2014, http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/TSG-Foreign-Fighters-in-Syria.pdf.
24. Defected Syrian army officer working with both US and Gulf Arab officials on supporting the rebels, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
25. Simeon Kerr, “Qatar Emir Abdicates and Hands Power to His Son,” Financial Times, June 25, 2013, www.ft.com/content/4051896c-dd5c-11e2-a756-00144feab7de.
26. Defected Syrian army officer working with both US and Gulf Arab officials on supporting the rebels, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
27. Ibid.
28. Peter Beaumont, “Growing Strength of Syria’s Islamist Groups Undermines Hopes of Ousting Assad,” The Guardian, December 14, 2013, www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/14/syria-islamist-militants-growing-strength.
29. Phillip Smyth, The Shiite Jihad in Syria and Its Regional Effects, Washington Institute website, February 6, 2015, www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/other/PhillipSmyth-ShiiteJihad02062015.pdf.
30. Anthony Deutsch, John Irish, and Michelle Nichols, “Exclusive: UN Inquiry Blames Syrian Military for Chlorine Bomb Attacks—Source,” Reuters, September 16, 2016, www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-chemicalweapons/exclusive-u-n-inquiry-blames-syrian-military-for-chlorine-bomb-attacks-source-idUSKCN11M1UU.
31. Defected Syrian army officer working with both US and Gulf Arab officials on supporting the rebels, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
32. French official speaking on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
33. “Al-Moallem Confirmed Syria’s Readiness to Collaborate with Any Regional and International Side Including Washington to Fight Terrorism,” National News Agency, August 25, 2014, http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/112603/nna-leb.gov.lb/nna-leb.gov.lb/ar.
34. Lewis Sida, Lorenzo Trombetta, and Veronica Panero, Evaluation of OCHA Response to the Syria Crisis, United Nations Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs, March 2016, www.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/OCHA%20Syria%20Evaluation%20Report_FINAL.pdf.
35. Senior UN humanitarian official speaking on condition anonymity, in discussion with the author, September 2015.
36. Ibid.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid.
40. Witnessed by the author throughout 2014.
41. Incident witnessed by the author in January 2014.
42. Sam Dagher, “Uneasy Truces: Syrian Regime Exploits Rebel Despair,” Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/uneasy-truces-syrian-regime-exploits-rebel-despair-1395803434?tesla=y.
43. Sam Dagher and Joe Lauria, “Deal Reached to Ease Siege of Homs,” Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2014.
44. Human Rights Watch, He Didn’t Have to Die: Indiscriminate Attacks by Opposition Groups in Syria, March 22, 2015, www.hrw.org/report/2015/03/22/he-didnt-have-die/indiscriminate-attacks-opposition-groups-syria.
45. Yacoub El Hillo, head of the UN humanitarian mission in Syria, in discussion with the author, July 2014.
46. Ibid.
47. Sam Dagher, “Syria: Tweets from Homs as First Civilians Are Evacuated,” Middle East Real Time blog, Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2014, https://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2014/02/07/syria-tweets-from-homs-as-first-civilians-are-evacuated/.
48. General Abdul-Kareem Salloum, head of the Homs branch of Military Intelligence, in discussion with the author, February 2014.
49. El Hillo, July 2014.
50. Sam Dagher, “Yes Graffiti Here Near Frontline in #Homs Says ‘Assad or Nobody, Assad or We Burn the Country’ #Syria,” Twitter, February 10, 2014, https://twitter.com/samdagher/status/432868667395940352.
51. Witnessed by the author, February 2014.
52. Ibid.
53. Sam Dagher, “Syrian Regime Loyalists Seethe Over UN Aid Operation for Rebel Area,” Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/no-headline-available-1392073109.
54. Homs men released by the Syrian mukhabarat from the school, in discussion with the author, July 2014.
55. Author was made to sign the same standard mukhabarat form after being briefly detained by the regime in Homs in August 2013.
56. Author witnessed release ceremony held at the Zahrawi High School theater in Homs, February 2014.
57. Violations Documentation Center in Syria, Special Report on Branch 261 of the Mukhabarat’s Military Intelligence Directorate—Homs,” March 2014, www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/ar/reports/1395194519#.W9wRxjOB3xt.
58. Author’s notes and audio recording of the release ceremony held at the Zahrawi High School theater in Homs, February 2014.
59. Homs opposition activists and relatives of the disappeared, in discussion with the author, July 2014.
60. El Hillo, July 2014.
61. Ibid.
62. Ibid.
63. Abu Rami al-Homsi, opposition activist leader who took part in negotiations, in discussion with the author, July 2014.
64. Sam Dagher, “Sadly this photo from ruins of #Homs says it all. On wall: ‘Long live Assad’s #Syria - #Assad or we burn the country,’” Twitter, December 20, 2014, https://twitter.com/samdagher/status/546305492881268736.
65. UN aid worker involved in Syria relief effort, in discussion with the author, September 2015.
66. Nick Hopkins and Emma Beals, “UN Pays Tens of Millions to Assad Regime under Syria Aid Programme,” The Guardian, August 29, 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/un-pays-tens-of-millions-to-assad-regime-syria-aid-programme-contracts.
67. Author interviewed several members of Rami Makhlouf’s Jamiyet Al-Bustan militia in Homs in 2013 and 2014. Many were proud of the war crimes they were committing and justified them. One identified himself as a recruiter and coordinator who worked in Rami’s office in Damascus and also took part in military assaults against opposition areas in and around Homs and throughout western Syria.
68. Syrian businessmen who took part in local tenders to supply food items and other goods to UN humanitarian agencies including the WFP, UNHCR, and UNESCO, in discussion with the author, October 2012.
69. Senior UN aid official, in discussion with the author, September 2015. A subsequent story by the New York Times revealed that the same regime official’s wife also provided consulting services to the World Health Organization in Damascus to assess the mental health of those fleeing their homes because of the fighting: Somini Sengupta, “UN Agency Hires Wife of Top Figure in Syrian War to Assist the Displaced,” New York Times, February 26, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/world/middleeast/syrian-ministers-wife-named-to-assess-mental-health-of-the-displaced.html.
70. “Record $10 Billion Pledged in Humanitarian Aid for Syria at UN Co-hosted Conference in London, UN News website, February 4, 2016, https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/02/521552-record-10-billion-pledged-humanitarian-aid-syria-un-co-hosted-conference-london.
Chapter 24 Abu Ali Putin
1. Author’s notes from a visit to Masyaf in western Syria, August 2014. Listening to Fairuz in the morning is a sacred tradition for many Syrians. The singer, whose real name is Nouhad Haddad, and her late husband and composer Assi al-Rahbani have been honored and embraced by the Assads over the years.
2. Sam Dagher, “Syria’s Mothers, Divided by War, Share Sorrow of Missing Sons,” Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/syrias-mothers-divided-by-war-share-sorrow-of-missing-sons-1418009581.
3. Sam Dagher, “Islamic State Militants Kill Scores of Syrian Troops,” Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-militants-kill-scores-of-syrian-troops-1409256028.
4. Alawite soldier from the Hama countryside who survived in the desert and was later rescued, in discussion with the author, August 2014.
5. Son of retired Alawite army general from the Jableh countryside in western Syria, in discussion with the author, August 2014.
6. Mohammad Jaber, in discussion with the author, August 2014.
7. Sam Dagher, “Part of Incinerated Wreckage of MiG 23 Shot Down by Islamist Rebels Aug 18 Over Rabiah Next to #Hama Airbase Syria,” Twitter, September 10, 2014, https://twitter.com/samdagher/status/509668142373539841.
8. Sam Dagher, “Syria’s Alawites: The People behind Assad,” Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2015, www.wsj.com/articles/syrias-alawites-the-people-behind-assad-1435166941.
9. Author’s notes from visit to the Sheikh Mohammad shrine in the village of Al-Dalyeh/Joufeen forest area in the mountains above the city of Jableh in western Syria, August 2014.
10. Sam Dagher, “Druse under Pressure to Take Sides in Syrian War,” Wall Street Journal, August 10, 2015, www.wsj.com/articles/druse-under-pressure-to-take-sides-in-syrian-war-1439235669.
11. Hassan Mutlaq, “The Ghost of Reserve Duty: Hama’s Youth Caught between the Flames of Military Service and Displacement,” Enab Baladi, January 18, 2015, www.enabbaladi.net/archives/26528?so=related.
12. Father of young man who wanted to fight in Syria, in discussion with the author, June 2018.
13. Bassam Saleh, in discussion with the author, September 2015.
14. Ibid.
15. Bashar al-Assad, interview by Russian media outlets, Syrian Arab News Agency, March 27, 2015, www.sana.sy/en/?p=33642.
16. “Russia: Putin Meets Iran’s Ali Akbar Velayati as Ties Deepen,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by RT (Russia Today), 0:46, posted by “Ruptly,” January 28, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYPh4soIuKw.
17. Mohammad Ballout, “Soleimani in Moscow for the Second Time in One Month,” Assafir, September 15, 2015.
18. Bashar al-Assad, speech transcript, Syrian Arab News Agency, July 26, 2015, www.sana.sy/?p=245771.
19. Presidential Executive Office (Russia), “Meeting with Government Members,” The Kremlin’s website, September 30, 2015, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/50401.
20. Sam Dagher, “Russian Airstrikes Defend Strategic Assad Regime Stronghold on Syria’s Coast,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2015, www.wsj.com/articles/russian-airstrikes-defend-strategic-assad-regime-stronghold-on-coast-1443743860.
21. Dion Nissenbaum, “Russia Bulks Up Force in Syria, Starts Flying Drone Missiona,” Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2015. https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-bulks-up-force-in-syria-starts-flying-drone-missions-1442856005.
22. Ali Othman, in discussion with the author, March 2016.
23. Médecins Sans Frontières, Syria 2015: Documenting War-Wounded and War-Dead in MSF-Supported Medical Facilities in Syria, February 17, 2016, www.msf.org/syria-report-documents-war-wounded-and-war-dead-msf-supported-medical-facilities-syria.
24. Human Rights Watch, Russia/Syria: Extensive Recent Use of Cluster Munitions, December 20, 2015, www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/20/russia/syria-extensive-recent-use-cluster-munitions.
25. “Zoabi: Syrians Adore ‘Abu Ali Putin,’” RT (Russia Today), April 15, 2016, https://arabic.rt.com/news/819303
26. Presidential Executive Office (Russia), “Meeting with President of Syria Bashar Assad,” The Kremlin’s website, October 21, 2015, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/50533.
27. “Russia: Assad and Putin Sit Down for Dinner in Moscow,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by RT (Russia Today), 1:05, posted by “Ruptly,” October 21, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQvoXhYDado.
28. Ibid.
29. Defected Syrian army officer working with CIA on supporting moderate rebel groups inside Syria, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
30. Michael R. Gordon and Gardiner Harris, “Obama and Putin Play Diplomatic Poker over Syria,” New York Times, September 28, 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/world/middleeast/obama-and-putin-clash-at-un-over-syria-crisis.html.
31. Spencer Ackerman, “Obama Tells Pentagon to Open Channel of Communication with Russia on Syria,” The Guardian, September 29, 2015, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/29/obama-pentagon-channel-communication-russia-syria.
32. “Russian FM Lavrov Shares Memories of Bromance with Ex-US State Secretary Kerry,” Sputnik News, July 21, 2017, https://sputniknews.com/world/201707211055770026-russia-lavrov-kerry-relations/.
33. Julian Borger, “Iran Nuclear Deal: World Powers Reach Historic Agreement to Lift Sanctions,” The Guardian, July 14, 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/14/iran-nuclear-programme-world-powers-historic-deal-lift-sanctions.
34. Barack Obama, interview by Norah O’Donnell, CBS This Morning, June 20, 2014, www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-notion-that-syrian-opposition-could-overthrow-assad-a-fantasy/.
35. Ali Othman, ex-Syrian army soldier turned rebel fighter in the Latakia countryside, who was flown to Qatar via Turkey for the anti-ISIS training several times, in discussion with the author, March 2016.
36. Syrian rebel commander, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
37. Angelique Chrisafis, “Charlie Hebdo Attackers: Born, Raised, and Radicalized in Paris,” The Guardian, January 12, 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/12/-sp-charlie-hebdo-attackers-kids-france-radicalised-paris.
38. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
39. Ibid.
40. Manaf Tlass, January 2016.
41. Masalmeh, January 2017.
42. Ibid.
43. Ibid.
44. Southern Front commander, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
45. Masalmeh, January 2017.
46. Ibid.
47. Ibid.
48. Ibid.
49. Sam Dagher and Suha Ma’ayeh, “In Syria, Assad Foes Pay High Price for Failed Offensive,” Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2015, www.wsj.com/articles/in-syria-assad-foes-pay-high-price-for-failed-offensive-1447464848.
50. Southern Front commander, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
51. Ibid.
52. Masalmeh, January 2017.
53. Sally Masalmeh and Malek al-Jawabra, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
54. Ibid.
55. Charles Lister, in discussion with the author, January 2019.
56. Al-Jawabra, August 2017.
57. Adam Withnall, “Aylan Kurdi’s Story: How a Small Syrian Child Came to Be Washed Up on a Beach in Turkey,” The Independent, September 3, 2015, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/aylan-kurdi-s-story-how-a-small-syrian-child-came-to-be-washed-up-on-a-beach-in-turkey-10484588.html.
58. International Organization for Migration, Over 3,770 Migrants Have Died Trying to Cross the Mediterranean to Europe in 2015, December 31, 2015, www.iom.int/news/over-3770-migrants-have-died-trying-cross-mediterranean-europe-2015.
59. Masalmeh, January 2017.
60. Ibid.
61. Ian Traynor, “Migration Crisis: Hungary PM Says Europe in Grip of Madness,” The Guardian, September 3, 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/03/migration-crisis-hungary-pm-victor-orban-europe-response-madness.
62. Viktor Orban, “Those Who Are Overwhelmed Cannot Offer Shelter to Anyone,” English translation of letter to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung posted on the official website of the Hungarian Government, September 3, 2015, www.kormany.hu/en/the-prime-minister/news/those-who-are-overwhelmed-cannot-offer-shelter-to-anyone.
63. Masalmeh and Al-Jawabra, January 2017.
64. Ibid.
65. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
66. Ibid.
67. Ibid.
68. Ibid.
69. Ibid.
70. Ibid.
71. Ibid.
72. Reporters Without Borders, “Mazen Darwish Awarded UNESCO Press Freedom Prize,” RWB website, May 7, 2015, https://rsf.org/en/news/mazen-darwish-awarded-unesco-press-freedom-prize.
73. PEN International, “Syrian Activist Mazen Darwish Shares PEN Pinter Award with Salman Rushdie,” PEN website, October 10, 2014, https://pen-international.org/news/syrian-activist-mazen-darwish-shares-pen-pinter-award-2014-with-salman-rushdie.
74. Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, “Opinions Adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its Sixty-Eight Session, 13–22 November 2013, No. 43/2013 (Syrian Arab Republic),” United Nations General Assembly, adopted November, 15, 2013, www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/opinion_43_2013_syria_darwish_2_.pdf.
75. “His Excellency President Bashar al-Assad Performs Eid Prayers,” General Organization of Radio and TV Syria, July 17, 2015, www.ortas.gov.sy/News/index.php?d=100349&id=179812.
76. Worldwide Movement for Human Rights, “Syria: Finally Free, Mazen Darwish Must Now Be Acquitted,” FIDH website, August 10, 2015, www.fidh.org/en/region/north-africa-middle-east/syria/syria-finally-free-mazen-darwish-must-now-be-acquitted.
77. Darwish, July 2017.
78. Ibid.
79. Ibid.
Chapter 25 Daesh or Bashar?
1. Matthieu Goar, “Quand une Délégation de Politiques Français Trouve Bachar Al-Assad ‘Plus Détendu” [“When a Delegation of French Politicians Finds Bashar al-Assad ‘More Relaxed’”], Le Monde, March 28, 2016, www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2016/03/28/quand-une-delegation-de-politiques-francais-trouve-bachar-al-assad-plus-detendu_4891157_3210.html.
2. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
3. Dexter Filkins, “Assad Speaks,” The New Yorker, November 1, 2016.
4. “Valérie Boyer de Retour de Syrie,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by France24 Channel, 6:06, posted by “Christian Scherer,” March 29, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPmZ2yuSx5k.
5. Ibid.
6. Benjamin Barthe, “Les Zones d’Ombre d’un Voyage ‘Privé’ à Damas” (“Shadow Zones of a ‘Private’ Visit to Damacus), Le Monde, February 26, 2015, www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2015/02/26/les-zones-d-ombre-d-un-voyage-prive-a-damas_4583575_3210.html.
7. Bashar Al-Assad, interview by David Pujadas, France 2 television channel; Bashar spoke in English and the regime’s Syrian Arab News Agency published a transcript, April 21, 2015, www.sana.sy/en/?p=37034.
8. Ibid.
9. The Soufan Group, Foreign Fighters: An Updated Assessment of the Flow of Foreign Fighters into Syria and Iraq, December 2015, www.soufangroup.com/foreign-fighters/.
10. Phillip Smyth, “The Shiite Jihad in Syria and its Regional Effects,” Washington Institute website, February 2015, www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus138-v3.pdf.
11. “What You Need to Know about Paris Attacks and the Situation in France,” Le Monde, November 14, 2015, www.lemonde.fr/attaques-a-paris/article/2015/11/14/what-you-need-to-know-about-paris-attacks-and-the-situation-in-france_4810074_4809495.html.
12. “Attentas Terroristes à Paris: État d’Urgence Décrété—Allocution de François Hollande” [“Terrorist Attacks in Paris: A State of Emergency Decreed—François Hollande’s Address”), YouTube video, 3:20, posted by “France24” official YouTube channel, November 13, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZW6hpeKuD4.
13. Rukmini Callimachi, “How ISIS Built the Machinery of Terror Under Europe’s Gaze,” New York Times, March 29, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/world/europe/isis-attacks-paris-brussels.html.
14. Duncan Gardham, “ISIL Issued Warning to ‘Filthy French,’” Politico (Politico.EU website), November 17, 2015, https://www.politico.eu/article/paris-terrorist-attacks-isil-issued-warning-to-filthy-french/.
15. Bashar al-Assad, interview by David Pujadas.
16. Laurent Fabius, in discussion with the author, December 2016.
17. “President al-Assad to French Delegation: Terrorist Attacks on Paris Can’t Be Separated from Those of Beirut and Events in Syria,” Syrian Arab News Agency, November 14, 2015, https://sana.sy/en/?p=61231.
18. Presidential Executive Office (Russia), “Press Statements and Answers to Journalists’ Questions Following Meeting with President of France François Hollande,” The Kremlin’s website, November 26, 2015, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/50792.
19. Ibid.
20. Boris Johnson, “Let’s Deal with the Devil: We Should Work with Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad in Syria,” The Telegraph, December 6, 2015, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/12036184/Lets-deal-with-the-Devil-we-should-work-with-Vladimir-Putin-and-Bashar-al-Assad-in-Syria.html.
21. United Nations Security Council, “Resolution 2254 (2015) Adopted by the Security Council at its 7588th Meeting, on December 18, 2015,” December 18, 2015, www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7b65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7d/s_res_2254.pdf.
22. “Amnesty: Russia May Have Committed War Crimes by Killing Civilians in Syria,” Associated Press dispatch reprinted in the Guardian, December 23, 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/23/russian-cluster-bombs-killed-hundreds-civilians-syria-watchdog.
23. Anne Barnard, “Death Toll from War in Syria Now 470,000, Group Finds,” New York Times, February 11, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/world/middleeast/death-toll-from-war-in-syria-now-470000-group-finds.html?_r=1.
24. “Madaya: Starvation under Siege,” Syrian American Medical Society website, January 2016, www.sams-usa.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Report_Madaya_Starvation_Under_Siege_.pdf.
25. Ibid.
26. Kevin Lui, “UN Secretary-General ‘Alarmed’ over Reports of Atrocities in Aleppo,” Time magazine, December 13, 2016, http://time.com/4597589/un-secretary-general-atrocities-syria-aleppo/.
27. “Kerry ‘Outraged’ at Syrian Airstrike on Children’s Hospital in Aleppo,” Voice of America News, April 28, 2016, www.voanews.com/a/un-envoy-calls-for-revitalized-cease-fire-ahead-of-more-talks/3306256.html.
28. Sam Dagher, “Syria Defies Russia in Bid to Keep Assad,” Wall Street Journal, April 11, 2016, www.wsj.com/articles/syria-defies-russia-in-bid-to-keep-assad-1460332538.
29. “’War on Terror Is Sacred’: Orthodox Church Praises Putin Decision on Syria Airstrikes,” RT (Russia Today), September 30, 2018.
30. “Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society to Open School and Mobile Hospital in Syria,” SANA, April 4, 2017, https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=103536.
31. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), “Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s Interview with the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society’s website, Moscow, July 25, 2016,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation website, July 25, 2016, www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2367193.
32. “Chamoun on the Anniversary of April 26: We Won’t Forget the Syrian Army’s Horrors and Its Destruction of All Sects; Sami Gemayel: We Don’t Want Daesh or Bashar al-Assad, Arabs or Iran, Just Lebanon,” National News Agency (Lebanon), April 30, 2016, http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/220009/.
33. Ignatius Joseph III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch for the Syriac Catholic Church, in discussion with the author, December 2014.
34. Robert Christian, “Pope Francis’ One Big Mistake: Syria,” Time magazine, March 12, 2014, http://time.com/22617/pope-francis-syria-mistake/.
35. “President Al-Assad Received Letter from Pope Francis Expressing Heartfelt Sympathy with Syria,” Syrian Arab News Agency, December 12, 2016.
36. Caroline Ayoub, in discussion with the author, July 2012. Ayoub, who was deeply involved in early peaceful protests, worked hard, especially in the Damascus suburbs, to transcend religious divides, keep the movement secular and nonviolent, and dispel the perception enforced by the regime that all Christians supported Bashar al-Assad. Ayoub was detained by the regime for one month in early 2012 and was personally interrogated and insulted by the notorious Jamil Hassan, chief of the mukhabarat’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate. He kept telling Ayoub that he was shocked that a Christian like her was siding with the “terrorist” Sunni Muslims, and that Christians, Alawites, and other minorities shared one destiny.
37. “Bila Quyoud: Gregorius III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for Melkite Greek Catholics,” YouTube video, taken from a BBC Arabic interview by Malak Jaafar, 25:30, posted by BBC News Arabic official YouTube channel, July 25, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWHKqpl8Vss.
38. Sam Dagher, “Christians in Homs, Syria, Grieve on Easter as Battles Rage,” Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/christians-in-homs-grieve-on-easter-as-battles-rage-1398035169.
39. “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and First Lady Asma al-Assad Visiting Christian Church,” YouTube video, 1:28, posted by “Ivan Sidorenko,” December 19, 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp-8eAPwf8I.
40. “Abbasyeen, Damascus: Muslims and Christians, We Want Freedom,” YouTube video, 0:49, posted by “Souria Yahabibati,” March 3, 2013, last accessed November 5, 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUP5tdN9lYI.
41. “Complément d’Enquête—Dictatures, Business et Diplomates de l’Ombre 07/05/15,” YouTube video, taken from an investigation by Romain Boutilly, Florian Le Moal, Gilles Truffaut, and Slavek Kuchalski aired May 7, 2015 on the Complément d’Enquête program on the France 2 TV channel, 1:04:28, posted by “Boba Fett,” May 8, 2015, last accessed November 5, 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYRcQnxI4Xg&t=2997s.
42. Ivan Watson, “Cyberwar Explodes in Syria,” CNN website, November 22, 2011, https://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/22/world/meast/syria-cyberwar/index.html.
43. Claude Guéant, former chief of staff of Nicolas Sarkozy, in discussion with the author, November 2016.
44. Alexander Sulzer, “Syrie: Ces Parlementaires Français Sur le Sulfureux Chemin de Damas” [“Syria: Parliamentarians on the ‘Sulphurous’ Road to Damascus”], L’Express, April 15, 2016, www.lexpress.fr/actualite/politique/syrie-ces-parlementaires-francais-sur-le-sulfureux-chemin-de-damas_1779321.html.
45. David Perrotin, “SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, Une Association Humanitaire Discrètement Noyautée Par l’Extrême Droite” [“SOS Christians of the East: A Humanitarian Association Discreetly Infiltrated by the Far Right”], BuzzFeed News France, May 20, 2015, www.buzzfeed.com/davidperrotin/sos-chretiens-dorient-une-ong-discretement-noyautee-par-lext.
46. “Complément d’Enquête—Dictatures, Business et Diplomates de l’Ombre 07/05/15,” YouTube video.
47. Ibid.
48. Nash Jenkins, “A Timeline of Recent Terrorist Attacks in Europe,” Time magazine, December 20, 2016, http://time.com/4607481/europe-terrorism-timeline-berlin-paris-nice-brussels/.
49. Andrew Ashdown, “Report of Visit to Syria: 31 August–7 September 2016,” Andrew Ashdown’s Blog, September 14, 2016, www.andrewashdown.me.uk/2016/09/report-of-visit-to-syria-31-august-7.html.
50. Øyvind Strømmen, “Assad’s Far-Right Europe Corps?” Hate Speech International website, November 25, 2013, www.hate-speech.org/other-volunteers/.
51. “Conspiracy against Assad—George Galloway—Russia Today,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by RT (Russia Today), 12:48, posted by “GeorgeGallowayForPM,” April 19, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNYfuE3Cwj8.
52. “Assad Makes Yuletide Visit to Christian Church in Damascus,” Breitbart, December 21, 2015. https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/12/21/assad-makes-yuletide-visit-christian-church-damascus/.
53. Nir Rosen, in discussion with the author in Damascus, August 2014.
54. Ibid.
55. Ibid.
56. Nour Malas and Carol E. Lee, “US Pursued Secret Contacts with Assad Regime for Years,” Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2015, www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-pursued-secret-contacts-with-assad-regime-for-years-1450917657.
57. Nir Rosen’s correspondence with Syrian regime officials was among the cache of e-mails released in 2012 by pro-Syrian-opposition hackers who broke into the server of the Syrian Ministry of Presidential affairs. These exchanges were posted on a website called Syriainsight.com and on several pro-opposition Facebook pages and were printed out and read by the author. By November 2018, though, neither the website nor the Facebook pages were accessible; images of these e-mails, however, remain visible in a search on Google. See: www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&q=%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D9%81%D9%8A+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A+%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B1+%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%86+%D9%88%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF+%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%84+%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%A9&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifvKfZpL3eAhWs4YUKHck_BbcQBQg8KAA&biw=1366&bih=595&dpr=1.Rosen told CNN on March 25, 2012, that the e-mails sent by him were authentic. See: https://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/23/world/meast/syria-al-assad-media/index.html.
58. Robin Wright, “Former Ambassador Robert Ford on the State Department Mutiny on Syria,” The New Yorker, June 17, 2016, www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/former-ambassador-robert-ford-on-the-state-department-mutiny-on-syria.
59. “UN Aid Chief Extremely Concerned over Evacuation of Syrian Town of Darayya, Cites Need for Compliance with Humanitarian Law,” UN News, August 2016, https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/08/537832-un-aid-chief-extremely-concerned-over-evacuation-syrian-town-darayya-cites-need#.WgBa3617E0R.
60. “President Assad Performs Eid al-Adha Prayers in Daraya and Takes a Tour Afterwards—The Messages and Significance,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by the Ekhbariya al-Souriya TV channel on September 12, 2016, 16:09, posted by “Kalam Siyasi,” September 12, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfA2VsiizuA.
61. Grace Guarnieri, “Vladimir Putin, Bashar al-Assad, and Everyone Donald Trump Named during the Final Hillary Clinton Debate,” Salon, October 20, 2016, www.salon.com/2016/10/20/vladimir-putin-bashar-al-assad-and-everyone-donald-trump-named-during-the-final-hillary-clinton-debate/.
62. Human Rights Watch, Russia/Syria: War Crimes in Month of Bombing Aleppo, December 1, 2016, www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/01/russia/syria-war-crimes-month-bombing-aleppo.
63. Maksymilian Czuperski, Faysal Itani, Ben Nemmo, Eliot Higgins, and Emma Beals, Breaking Aleppo, Atlantic Council website, February 2017, www.publications.atlanticcouncil.org/breakingaleppo/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BreakingAleppo.pdf.
64. Ibid.
65. “A Glimpse at the Life of Mrs. Aniseh Makhlouf,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast by Sama TV, 3:21, posted by “Qomhane News,” February 7, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqsZH_5su64.
66. “Asma al-Assad: Between War and Peace. Exclusive Portrait in a Documentary Film by Anna Afanasyeva,” YouTube video, 37:14, posted on the official YouTube channel of Russia 24, October 23, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7LPfrB4nGQ&t=189s.
67. Ibid.
68. Ibid.
69. Ibid.
70. Ibid.
71. Ibid.
72. Ibid.
73. Sam Dagher, “White Helmets Are White Knights for Desperate Syrians,” Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2016, www.wsj.com/articles/white-helmets-are-white-knights-for-desperate-syrians-1462146569.
74. Ameer Alhalbi, “A Day of Hell in Aleppo,” AFP website, May 2, 2016, https://correspondent.afp.com/day-hell-aleppo.
75. Karam al-Masri, “A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported airstrike on April 27, 2016 in the rebel-held neighborhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo” (photo), AFP/Getty Images, www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d%27actualité/syrian-boy-is-comforted-as-he-cries-next-to-the-body-photo-dactualité/525269432.
76. Malaka Gharib, “The Little Boy in Aleppo: Can One Photo End a War?” NPR website, August 19, 2016, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/19/490679863/the-little-boy-in-aleppo-can-one-photo-end-a-war.
77. Commission on Presidential Debates, “October 19, 2016 Debate Transcript,” Debates.org, October 19, 2016, www.debates.org/index.php?page=october-19-2016-debate-transcript.
78. Amy Sherman, “Donald Trump Wrongly Blames Hillary Clinton for Creation of ISIS,” Politifact, July 20, 2016, www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2016/jul/20/donald-trump/donald-trump-wrongly-blames-hillary-clinton-creati/.
79. “Brigitte Gabriel on Radical Islamic Terrorism at ‘Act for America’ 2016 Conference,” C-SPAN, September 6, 2016, www.c-span.org/video/?c4619356/brigitte-gabriel-radical-islamic-terrorism-act-america-2016-conference.
80. Caitlin Dickerson, “How Fake News Turned a Small Town Upside Down,” New York Times Magazine, September 26, 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/magazine/how-fake-news-turned-a-small-town-upside-down.html.
81. Alison Smale, “Angela Merkel Calls for Ban on Full-Face Veils in Germany,” New York Times, December 6, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/world/europe/merkel-calls-for-ban-on-full-face-veils-in-germany.html?_r=0.
82. Author’s notes and reporting in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, and Paris in fall 2016.
83. Ibid.
84. Ibid.
85. Yohan Blavignat, “Moyen-Orient: Les Propositions de François Fillon et Alain Juppé” [“Middle East: The Propositions of François Fillon and Alain Juppé”], Le Figaro, November 24, 2016, www.lefigaro.fr/elections/presidentielles/primaires-droite/2016/11/24/35004-20161124ARTFIG00254-moyen-orient-les-propositions-de-francois-fillon-et-alain-juppe.php.
86. Manaf Tlass, December 2016.
87. “Terrorism Court Sentences the Defector Manaf Tlass to Death,” Syria Steps, January 7, 2015.
88. Manaf Tlass, December 2016.
89. Ibid.
90. Ibid.
91. Ibid.
92. “Profile: Libya’s Military Strongman Khalifa Haftar,” BBC News website, September 15, 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27492354.
93. “Libyan General Khalifa Haftar Meets Russian Minister to Seek Help,” Reuters dispatch published in The Guardian, November 29, 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/libyan-general-khalifa-haftar-meets-russian-minister-to-seek-help.
94. Reuters, “UN Envoy Says Syria Peace Talks Still On for January 25,” January 13, 2016, www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-un-idUSKCN0UR2MJ20160113.
95. Bradley Klapper and Matthew Lee, “Assad Can Stay, for Now: Kerry Accepts Russian Stance,” Associated Press dispatch published in the Military Times, December 16, 2015, www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2015/12/16/assad-can-stay-for-now-kerry-accepts-russian-stance/.
96. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
97. Syria Freedom News Network (Facebook page), “Manaf Tlass, Between the Accumulation of Rumors and the Absence of Facts,” Facebook post by Ahmed Mansour, July 10, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/freenews212/posts/1125300984198616.
98. Manaf Tlass’s black notebook, viewed by the author, December 2018.
99. Rebel commander who signed pledge to back Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
100. Manaf Tlass, December 2016.
101. Ibid.
102. Czuperski et al., Breaking Aleppo.
103. “Postponement of Evacuation of Civilians and Opposition Fighters from East Aleppo,” YouTube video, taken from a broadcast on France 24, 1:48, posted by “France 24 Arabic,” December 14, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX7_HGknc7A.
104. Syrian Network for Human Rights, Ala’a al-Shawwaf Died Due to Torture in Syrian Regime Detention Center, October 19, October 20, 2016, http://sn4hr.org/blog/2017/10/20/alaa-al-shawwaf-died-due-torture-syrian-regime-detention-center-october-19/.
105. “Bashar al-Assad Congratulates Syrians on the ‘Historic Victory’ in Aleppo,” YouTube video, 1:44, posted by “RT Arabic,” December 15, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLvP26aelR4.
Chapter 26 Dictators Strike Back—but Hope Endures
1. Amnesty International, Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Saydnaya Prison, February 7, 2017, www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE2454152017ENGLISH.PDF.
2. Soumer Daghastani, “Inside Tadmur: The Worst Prison in the World?” BBC News website, June 20, 2015, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33197612.
3. Alice Su, “How One Syrian Fought to Death for a Free Internet,” Wired magazine, September 27, 2017, www.wired.com/story/how-one-syrian-fought-to-the-death-for-a-free-internet/.
4. Mazen Darwish, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
5. Ibid.
6. Michael Isikoff, “Exclusive: Defiant Assad Tells Yahoo News Torture Report Is ‘Fake News,’” Yahoo News, February 10, 2017, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-defiant-assad-tells-yahoo-news-torture-report-is-fake-news-100042667.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw.
7. Ibid.
8. Michael Isikoff, “Full Interview Transcript: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” Yahoo News, February 10, 2017, www.yahoo.com/news/full-interview-transcript-syrian-president-bashar-assad-194809125.html.
9. Nick Corasantini and Maggie Haberman, “Donald Trump Suggests ‘Second Amendment People’ Could Act against Hillary Clinton,” New York Times, August 9, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/08/10/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton.html.
10. Brooke Singman, “Trump Declares ‘Market Would Crash’ if Democrats Impeached Him,” Fox News, August 23, 2018, www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-declares-market-would-crash-if-democrats-impeached-him.
11. Brian Katulis, “5 Signs Trump Leads Like a Middle Eastern Dictator,” Fortune.com, April 5, 2017, http://fortune.com/2017/04/05/donald-trump-middle-east-dictator-syria-egypt-president-sisi/.
12. Syrianpresidency (Instagram account), “On Christmas Day… President Assad and His Family Visit the Orphanage at the Saydeh Monastery in Saydnaya… #SyrianPresidency #Syria #President #Assad #Asma #BestOfTheDay #Saydnaya #Merrychristmas #Xmas #Love #Orphan #family,” Instagram, December 25, 2016, www.instagram.com/p/BOcbNUnhM3L/.
13. bassel_shw (Instagram account), “Where life begins and love never ends #familycomesfirst,” Instagram, February 11, 2017, www.instagram.com/p/BQYbM9lD4Cg/?hl=en&taken-by=bassel_shw.
14. Syrianpresidency (Instagram account), “The wounded [soldier] Ayham Mahmoud from the village of Deir Shmayel in the Hama countryside… received President Assad and his family… #SyrianPresidency #Syria #President #Assad #Asma #Brave #Hero #injured #Challenge #SAA #Hama #EidMubarak,” Instagram, June 26, 2017, www.instagram.com/p/BV0IVc-lf_S/.
15. Asma al-Assad Syria’s First Lady (Facebook page), “They have taught us that history is written by the strong, in Syria it’s being written by the righteous—The first lady Asma al-Assad to the mothers of Aleppo on Mother’s Day,” Facebook post of a video created by the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic (Bashar’s media office), 26:23, March 22, 2017, www.facebook.com/AsmaalAssad.FirstLady/videos/vb.187267097966022/1847656218593760/?type=2&theater.
16. “Hafez Bashar al-Assad: People Are Blind Toward My Father and I Am Not the Best,” RT (Russia Today—Arabic) website, July 18, 2017, https://arabic.rt.com/middle_east/889201-
17. Asma al-Assad Syria’s First Lady (Facebook page), “… The alternative was ignorance that brought extremism and terror…,” Facebook post of a video created by the Syria Trust, 1:51, July 23, 2017, www.facebook.com/AsmaalAssad.FirstLady/videos/vb.187267097966022/2035124509846929/?type=2&theater.
18. Suzy Hansen, “Inside Turkey’s Purge,” New York Times Magazine, April 13, 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/magazine/inside-turkeys-purge.html.
19. Karl Vick, “Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Talks to Time about the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s Plans, and President Trump,” Time magazine, April 5, 2018, http://time.com/5228006/mohammed-bin-salman-interview-transcript-full/.
20. Kareem Fahim, Tamer El-Ghobashy, and Louisa Loveluck, “Prosecutor Says Khashoggi Was Strangled and Dismembered, but Fate of Body Still a Mystery,” Washington Post, October 31, 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/world/saudi-arabia-not-fully-cooperating-with-khashoggi-investigation-turkish-official-says/2018/10/31/804bfc2a-dc78-11e8-8bac-bfe01fcdc3a6_story.html?utm_term=.9e8782fe6c3a.
21. Amnesty International, Stranglehold: Coalition and Huthi Obstacles Compound Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis, June 22, 2018, www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE3185052018ENGLISH.pdf.
22. Simeon Kerr and Ahmed Al Omran, “Qatar Restores Diplomatic Ties with Iran,” Financial Times, August 24, 2017, www.ft.com/content/bd8f21c8-889d-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787.
23. Judy Dempsey, “Germany Welcomes Egypt’s Sisi,” Carnegie Europe, June 1, 2015, http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/60260?lang=en.
24. Chris Osuh, “Spikes in Hate Crime Came after the Manchester Bombing, London Attacks, and Brexit,” Manchester Evening News, October 17, 2017, www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/spikes-hate-crime-came-after-13773496.
25. “Macron: Bachar El-Assad Est un ‘Criminel’” [“Macron: Bashar al-Assad Is a ‘Criminal”], Le Figaro and AFP, September 19, 2017, http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2017/09/19/97001-20170919FILWWW00295-macron-bachar-el-assad-est-un-criminel.php.
26. Markus Feldenkirchen and René Pfister, “The Isolated Chancellor: What Is Driving Angela Merkel?” Spiegel Online, January 25, 2016, www.spiegel.de/international/germany/why-has-angela-merkel-staked-her-legacy-on-the-refugees-a-1073705.html.
27. “Killings at a Berlin Christmas Market Test Germany’s Nerves,” The Economist, December 24, 2016, www.economist.com/europe/2016/12/24/killings-at-a-berlin-christmas-market-test-germanys-nerve.
28. Rebecca Staudenmaier, “German Far-Right AfD Politicians Travel to Syria in Effort to Send Back Refugees,” Deutsche Welle, March 6, 2018, www.dw.com/en/german-far-right-afd-politicians-travel-to-syria-in-effort-to-send-back-refugees/a-42846789.
29. Yasmeen Sarhan, “The Organization That Sent Tulsi Gabbard to Syria,” The Atlantic, January 31, 2017, www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/01/the-organization-that-sent-tulsi-gabbard-to-syria/514763/.
30. Mariam Elba, “Why White Nationalists Love Bashar Al-Assad,” The Intercept, September 8, 2017, https://theintercept.com/2017/09/08/syria-why-white-nationalists-love-bashar-al-assad-charlottesville/.
31. Manaf Tlass, in discussion with the author, January 2017.
32. Ibid.
33. Michael Crowley, “Trump Cedes Syrian Postwar Planning to Putin,” Politico.com, November 21, 2017. https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/21/trump-putin-russia-syria-257407.
34. “Randa Kassis Reveals Details of Her Meeting with Donald Trump Jr.,” RT (Russia Today—Arabic) website, November 25, 2016, https://arabic.rt.com/news/85135-
35. Manaf Tlass, January 2017.
36. Ibid.
37. Human Rights Watch, Death by Chemicals: The Syrian Government’s Widespread and Systematic Use of Chemical Weapons, May 1, 2017, www.hrw.org/report/2017/05/01/death-chemicals/syrian-governments-widespread-and-systematic-use-chemical-weapons.
38. Michael Scherer, “The Trump Administration Warned Russia about the US Missile Attack on Syria,” Time magazine, April 7, 2017, http://time.com/4730306/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-russia-missile-attack-bashar-assad/.
39. “Russia Blocks Security Council Action on Reported Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria’s Khan Shaykhun,” UN News, April 12, 2017, https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/04/555292-russia-blocks-security-council-action-reported-use-chemical-weapons-syrias-khan#.Wgsgjq2B2SM.
40. Josie Ensor, “Syrian Warplanes Take Off Once again from Air Base Bombed by US Tomahawks,” The Telegraph, April 8, 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/08/syrian-warplanes-take-air-base-bombed-us-tomahawks/.
41. “President Assad: We Will Continue Fighting and Crushing Terrorists…,” Syrian Arab News Agency, August 20, 2017, www.sana.sy/?p=610816.
42. David E. Sanger, Eric Schmitt, and Ben Hubbard, “Trump Ends Covert Aid to Syrian Rebels Trying to Topple Assad,” New York Times, July 19, 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/world/middleeast/cia-arming-syrian-rebels.html.
43. “Russia Has Fooled the US Again in Syria” (editorial), Washington Post, January 11, 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/russia-has-fooled-the-us-again-in-syria/2018/01/11/a3e5879c-f6fe-11e7-a9e3-ab18ce41436a_story.html?utm_term=.c5fdc877ede2.
44. UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, United Nations General Assembly, Official Document System of the United Nations, August 8, 2017, last accessed on November 6, 2018, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/172/341/8x/pdf/1723418.pdf?OpenElement.
45. Rick Gladstone, “In UN Showdown, Russian Veto Kills Syria Chemical Arms Panel,” New York Times, November 16, 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/world/middleeast/syria-chemical-weapons-united-nations.html.
46. Nahed.t.o (Instagram account), photograph of Mustafa Tlass and his grandson in Nahed Tlass-Ojjeh’s apartment was seen by the author before the Instagram account was made private, https://www.instagram.com/nahed.t.o/?hl=en.
47. Manaf Tlass, June 2017.
48. Khaled al-Khani, in discussion with the author, August 2017.
49. Violations Documentation Center (VDC) in Syria database, http://vdc-sy.net/en/. The VDC documented the death of 2,450 civilians in the Damascus suburbs during the period January 1, 2018–April 30, 2018.
50. Marc Bennetts, “Putin: Syria War Is Priceless for Testing Our New Weapons,” Times (London), June 8, 2018, www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-syria-war-is-priceless-for-testing-our-new-weapons-qkz3qsdqw.
51. Human Rights Watch, Russia Backs Syria in Unlawful Attacks on Eastern Ghouta, March 18, 2018, www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/18/russia-backs-syria-unlawful-attacks-eastern-ghouta.
52. Rick Gladstone and Maggie Haberman, “Horrific Details on Syria Chemical Attacks Left Out, for Now, from UN Report,” New York Times, June 20, 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/world/middleeast/un-syria-eastern-ghouta.html.
53. Liz Sly and Louisa Loveluck, “Assad Is Defiant as US-led Strikes in Syria Show No Sign of Threatening His Hold on Power,” Washington Post, April 14, 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/world/damascus-defiant-as-trump-orders-strikes-after-syria-chemical-attack/2018/04/14/5ec055a6-3f5c-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html?utm_term=.f7e3f2c6c457.
54. Damascus resident who spoke on condition of anonymity, in discussion with the author, December 2017.
55. Al-Khani, August 2017.
56. “Crimes en Syrie, La Justice Suisse Accusée de Lenteurs” [“Crimes in Syria, the Swiss Judiciary Is Accused of Being Slow to Respond”], Radio Télévision Suisse, September 25, 2017, www.rts.ch/play/tv/19h30/video/crimes-en-syrie-la-justice-suisse-accusee-de-lenteurs?id=8947835&fbclid=IwAR0g_kxObhmapJriNQ8CSqUIhbxRdWPRB7fq4jwfOSc3ciu5hR2JdB912lI&station=a9e7621504c6959e35c3ecbe7f6bed0446cdf8da.
57. “Revelations about TRIAL International’s Investigation,” Trial International statement, September 25, 2017, https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/in-switzerland-proceedings-for-war-crimes-against-rifaat-al-assad/.
58. Adam Sage, “European Property Worth 691 Million Euros Seized from Assad’s Uncle Rifaat,” Times (London), March 14, 2018, www.thetimes.co.uk/article/european-property-worth-691m-seized-from-assad-s-uncle-rifaat-sx6h6w2sx.
59. Darwish, July 2017.
60. Notes from author’s visit to former State Security Service (Stasi) prison in Berlin’s Hohenschönhausen district, July 2017.
61. Ibid.
62. Author’s notes from visit to the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression office in Berlin, July 2017.
63. Anwar al-Bunni, Mazen Darwish and Joumana Seif, in discussion with the author, July 2017.
64. “Photographs and Data from the ‘Caesar-File Support Group,’” European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, September 2017.
65. “Secretary-General Appoints Catherine Marchi-Uhel of France to Head International Impartial Independent Mechanism Investigating Serious Crimes in Syria,” United Nations press release, July 3, 2017.
66. Rick Gladstone, “UN Documents Syrian War Crimes, but Prosecution Moves Slowly,” New York Times, April 24, 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/world/middleeast/un-syria-war-crimes.html.
67. “Spanish Court Case Tests the Challenges of Universal Jurisdiction on Syrians,” Global Voices in partnership with Syria Untold, October 2, 2017, https://globalvoices.org/2017/10/02/spanish-court-case-tests-the-challenges-of-universal-jurisdiction-on-syrians/.
68. Darwish, August 2017.
69. Mazen Darwish, Laureate Freedom of Speech Award 2016, Roosevelt Four Freedoms, www.fourfreedoms.nl/en/laureates/year:2016/award:freedom-of-speech-award/laureates:mazen-darwish.htm.
70. Darwish, August 2017.
71. Ibid.
72. Farnaz Fassihi, “UN’s Special Envoy to Syria Calling It Quits,” Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2018, www.wsj.com/articles/u-n-s-special-envoy-to-syria-calling-it-quits-1539817930.
73. Darwish, August 2017.
74. Jörg Diehl, Christoph Reuter, and Fidelius Schmid, “Germany Takes Aim at Assad’s Torture Boss,” Spiegel Online, June 8, 2018, www.spiegel.de/international/world/senior-assad-aid-charged-with-war-crimes-a-1211923.html.
75. Sam Dagher, “A Cruel Epilogue to the Syrian Civil War,” The Atlantic, August 15, 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/lists-of-dead-in-syria-assad/567559/.
76. Sam Dagher, “Assad Has Made His Allies Think He’s Indispensable,” The Atlantic, July 31, 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/07/assad-israel-putin-iran/566423/.
77. Noa Landau, “Analysis—Russia–Israel Deal Is Clear: Iran away from Border, Assad’s Rule Accepted,” Haaretz, July 15, 2018, www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/.premium-russia-israel-deal-iran-away-from-border-assad-s-rule-accepted-1.6269407.
78. Experts and officials who received copies of the Russian plan, in discussion with the author, July 2018.
79. “Mustafa Tlass’ Daughter Defends the Displacement Agreement in the Homs Countryside and Guarantees that Only Russian Forces will Enter (Audio Recording),” Al Jisr Satellite Television website, May 3, 2018. http://jisrtv.com/
80. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
81. “RAW: Al-Rastan Receives Russian Humanitarian Aid Along Reopened Hama-Homs Highway,” YouTube video, 1:09, posted by “Russia Today,” September 11, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieU8pZpAzds.
82. Sam Dagher, “Assad Is Desperate for Soldiers,” The Atlantic, May 14, 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/05/syria-assad-conscription-refugees-lebanon/560282/.
83. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, “Iranians Respond to the Regime: ‘Leave Syria Alone!’” Al Jazeera English website, May 2, 2018, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/iranians-respond-regime-leave-syria-180501081025309.html.
84. Sam Dagher, “The Families Who Sacrificed Everything for Assad,” The Atlantic, April 12, 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/assad-alawite-syria/557810/.
85. “Man in the News: The Assads Clip the Nails of Their Kinsman Ayman Jaber,” Enab Baladi, June 1, 2016, www.enabbaladi.net/archives/232365.
86. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
87. Neil MacFarquhar and Andrew E. Kramer, “Putin Welcomes US Withdrawal from Syria as ‘Correct’,” The New York Times, December 20, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/world/europe/putin-trump-syria.html.
88. Richard Spencer, “Sudan Despot in Syria for ‘Genocide Summit’,” The Times, December 18, 2018, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sudan-despot-in-syria-for-assad-genocide-summit-rzh7830wf.
89. Marc Daou, “Thaw in Relations Between Arab Leaders and Syria’s Assad,” France 24, January 4, 2019. https://www.france24.com/en/20190104-syria-bashar-al-assad-diplomacy-uae-russia-iran-arab-league-saudi-arabia.
90. Manaf Tlass, December 2018.
91. Sally Masalmeh, Facebook post, July 18, 2018.
92. Notes from author’s trip to Rügen to meet Sally Masalmeh and Malek al-Jawabra, January 2017.
93. Ibid.
94. Ibid.