Theo Padnos- Journalist's Story Of His Capture, Torture, and Release By Syria's Nusra Front

Theo Padnos is a journalist who has written about his time as a kidnap victim in Syria. It is a detailed account of his capture, torture, and eventual release by the al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front. It's a long but harrowing tale, and what we take away from his story is that there are no good guys in Syria. There are no "moderates" in the rebel forces. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is untrustworthy, after all, on several occasions, they handed him over to the jihdaists Jebhat al-Nusra. And the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are essentially one and the same.

On the problem between the two jihadist armies, who both have the same goals and penchant for violence, but who are now fighting each other, he writes:

The real issue between the Nusra Front and the Islamic State was that their commanders, former friends from Iraq, were unable to agree on how to share the revenue from the oil fields in eastern Syria that the Nusra Front had conquered. On the one hand, I was pleased by this. It made the men despise each other. Had their armies reconciled, I would have become the prisoner of a reunited fundamentalist organization under the command of the stronger of the leaders, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State. 

On the goals of the Islamists to export jihad to Western nations, and establish Islamic emirates, he writes:

Over the last 22 months, I had stopped being surprised when Nusra Front commanders introduced their 8-year-old sons to me by saying, “He will be a suicide martyr someday, by the will of God.” The children participated in the torture sessions. Around the prisons, they wore large pouches with red wires sticking out of them — apparently suicide belts — and sang their “destroy the Jews, death to America” anthems in the hallways. It would be a mistake to assume that only Syrians are educating their children in this manner. The Nusra Front higher-ups were inviting Westerners to the jihad in Syria not so much because they needed more foot soldiers — they didn’t — but because they want to teach the Westerners to take the struggle into every neighborhood and subway station back home. They want these Westerners to train their 8-year-olds to do the same. Over time, they said, the jihadists would carve mini-Islamic emirates out of the Western countries, as the Islamic State had done in Syria and Iraq. There, Western Muslims would at last live with dignity, under a true Quranic dispensation.

The rest here. Worth a read.

I hope the world is taking note.

Jihadists Chop Down 150-Year-Old Tree In Syria

Atme has been a Free Syrian Army (FSA) stronghold fighting Bashar al-Assad's forces for a while, but jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL) have just taken control. This does not sit well with local FSA fighters, like Abu Leila ,who want nothing to do with the jihadists, but seem at a loss to prevent the inevitable takeovers that are happening in rebel held regions of Syria.

According to Leila ISIL:

“have taken over Atme... They have set up checkpoints across the town." [snip] "Atme was oxygen for the (rebel) Free Syrian Army. ”  Atme was being used  “as an entry point for everything from weapons to food, and as an exit point for the wounded” into Turkey’s hospitals, said Abu Leila.

And wherever the jihadists go they bring their supreme ignorance with them.

There was a a 150-year-old oak tree standing next to an ancient shrine in Atme, a Syria/Turkey border town.  Because jihadists don't like shrines, they took over the site and stopped people from worshipping there.  When that happened the locals started praying next to the tree, so the jihadists chopped it down claiming the people were worshipping the tree.

According to a pro-jihadist source:

“Thank God almighty, the tree... aged more than 150 years has been removed, after people were worshipping it instead of God,” said the source on Thursday via his Twitter account named “our call is our jihad”.

He also posted pictures of a man in a black mask using an electric saw to cut down the tree. A black Al-Qaeda-style flag bearing the Islamic profession of faith had been planted on top of the tree.

Such stupidity on so many levels.

FSA Statue-Smashing Cleric Omar Gharba' s 2012 Interview- Lesson In Contradictions

Omar Gharba' is a Wahhabi cleric with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).  They're supposed to be moderates, and obviously some are- the secular ones who started off fighting for democracy at the beginning of the revolution, but many, like Gharba', are not.  In this 2012 interview Gharba'  talks about establishing an Islamic state. He's full of contradictions, including stating he does not support foreign fighters from a tactical standpoint, but from a Shariah standpoint- bring 'em on. This same man who in 2012 talks about Omar ib al-Khattab not destroying churches when he entered Jerusalem, is recently seen destroying a statute of the Virgin Mary in Idlib. The interviewer keeps questioning Gharba' about what the FSA will do if the majority of the Syrian people want a civil state (after claiming it is better to let people choose), and asks if they will use arms to establish an Islamic state. He never really answers her.

FSA Claims Syrian Christian Converts To Islam Because He Was Treated So Well

This video was originally posted on IslamTube (yep, the Muslim version of YouTube). It's a Syrian man, Fawzi Jamil, claiming to have converted from Christianity to Islam because he was treated so well in prison and the FSA Sharia Court after he was jailed for something not mentioned. Probably for being Christian.

The poor man looks scared witless. Do they really think we're stupid enough to believe he converted of his own free will?

Freed Belgian Hostage Claims Rebels Launched Gas Attack In Syria

Italian reporter Domenico Quirico and Belgian teacher Pierre Piccinin- who were abducted by rebel forces in Syria and then pawned off to different Islamist groups, and were just released after five months in captivity-  have some very interesting things to say about their hostage days and what is going on in the country.

Treated like an animal Quirico said this of Syria and his captors:

"Even children and old people tried to hurt us. Maybe I am putting this in overly ethical terms but in Syria I really found a country of evil," he said.
[snip]
"Our captors were from a group that professed itself to be Islamist but that in reality is made up of mixed-up young men who have joined the revolution because the revolution now belongs to these groups that are midway between banditry and fanaticism," he said.

"They follow whoever promises them a future, gives them weapons, gives them money to buy cell phones, computers, clothes."

Such groups, he said, were trusted by the West but were in truth profiting from the revolution to "take over territory, hold the population to ransom, kidnap people and fill their pockets".

The rest of his story here.

In the interview on RTL's Le Journal (see below), Piccinin claims that the rebels and not Bashar al-Assad's government forces were responsible for the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta.  Apparently, information they garnered from a skype conversation the rebels had in English, the attack was a means of forcing the West into the conflict. Thank you Obama.

The following information was posted on the EretzZen YouTube channel:

"In this conversation, they said that the gas attack on two neighborhoods of Damascus was launched by the 'rebels' as a provocation to lead the West to intervene militarily," Quirico told Italy's La Stampa. "We were unaware of everything that was going on during our detention in Syria, and therefore also with the gas attack in Damascus."

While stating that the rebels most likely exaggerated the accident's death toll, the Italian journalist stressed that he could not vouch whether "the conversation was based on real facts." However, he said that one of the three people in the alleged conversation identified himself as a Free Syrian Army general, La Stampa reported.

Based on what both men have learned, Peccinin told RTL that it would be "insane and suicidal for the West to support these people."

"It pains me to say it because I've been a fierce supporter of the Free Syrian Army in its rightful fight for democracy since 2012," Piccinin added.

"There was sometimes real violence...humiliation, bullying, mock executions...Domenico faced two mock executions, with a revolver," Piccinin told RTL.

Both men were kidnapped in Syria last April by a group of armed men in pickup trucks who were believed to be from Free Syrian Army.

According to Piccinin, the captors soon transferred them over to the Abu Ammar brigade, a rebel group "more bandit than Islamist."

"We were moved around a lot...it was not always the same group that held us, there were very violent groups, very anti-West and some anti-Christian," Piccinin said.

Just more proof that we have no clue what is going on in that country.

Croissant Fatwa By Syrian Rebel Islamists In Aleppo

And one for the 'stupid fatwa' file:  no croissants for the residents of the Islamist rebel-held section of Aleppo, Syria because they represent the Christian European victory over Muslim imperialism during the Ottoman Empire. Not that there's any truth to that fanciful tale.

A sharia committee in a rebel-held area of Aleppo issued a fatwa deeming croissants ‘haram’ (forbidden in Islamic law) because of their “colonial” significance, pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.

I'm sure those living in Aleppo had no clue that their fight for freedom against Bashar al-Assad's oppression would end up with something even worse.  The ban against croissants isn't the only thing they're having to deal with. Women have already been banned from wearing "immodest" clothing and makeup.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is also showing its conservative bent.

A fatwa issued by the Council of the United Judiciary, affiliated with the rebel Free Syrian Army, stipulated a year in jail for anyone not fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Out of the frying pan.

With $6 Billion, FSA Can Wipe Out The Shiite Muslims

Calling upon his Arab and Muslim brothers Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander Abu Ameen says with $6 billion he can wipe out the Shiite population, "this rotten sect that is killing Muslims."  Anyone see the irony in that statement? He also criticizes those brothers for supporting the "coup" in Egypt.

The fact is they are both culpable.

Al-Qaeda To Establish Islamic State In Syria, Claims FSA

Looks like there will soon be fighting in Syria on 3 fronts- Bashar al-Assad's forces versus the Free Syrian Army (FSA) versus the al-Qaeda linked and influenced Islamists.  The latter two will probably duke it out after al-Qaeda announces an Islamic state in the northern part of Syria where the rebel forces have prevailed. According to an anonymous rep of the FSA this is going to happen once they are done with Ramadan, the first day of Eid.

He said: “The implementation of this plan started last week with the killing of Commander Fadi El-Qash and his brother in Dana village, followed by the killing of senior member of the Supreme Command Council, Kamal Hamami, and will be followed by more assassinations of officers and important figures in the FSA.”

The sources confirmed that “the FSA circulated this information within limited, trusted circles as soon as it became available, and will avoid any confrontation that could weaken the rebels in their fight against the government forces.”

He claimed that the FSA was currently “deploying units and erecting checkpoints in towns that will be targeted according to the plan, and strengthen our presence in these towns to stop them becoming prey to the Islamic state.”

Meanwhile, the FSA source said “we will try to sit down and talk to the Islamic state if we find someone who listens, in order to avoid bloodbaths and clashes which would reflect negatively on the fight against the government forces.”

He added, however, that “whatever we do, there will definitely be war between us.”

The BBC reported on Tuesday that the FSA, following the killing of Hamami, said: “The Islamic state had threatened to kill all of the other members of the Supreme Military Council, another sign of the escalating struggle within the armed uprising.”

 And weapons are headed for the rebel opposition forces from the EU and the US.

It's going to get even uglier and bloodier in Syria, before the dust finally settles, whenever that happens.

Islamists Ban Immodest Clothing In Another Syrian Neighbourhood

Extremists in rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria, are continuing to exert their power. According to residents of Farduous neighbourhood, immodest clothing or makeup for women will no longer be allowed. That will go for non-Muslims as well.

And we're about to send these rebels aid. Where does the Free Syria Army (FSA) stand on all these changes?

Not a good thing.

"Muslim women are banned from leaving the house in immodest dress, in tight clothing that shows off their bodies or wearing makeup on their face," the statement said. "It is incumbent on all our sisters to obey God and commit to Islamic etiquette".

Hardline Islamist groups have increasingly taken the lead in the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Many units, some of which are linked to al Qaeda, have stretched their influence beyond the battleground and established police and administrative councils in some rebel-held areas.

But these groups' ascendance is stirring resentment among many Syrians, who are increasingly reporting incidents of Islamist councils silencing or even attacking groups with different views.

The rest here.

The Farduous council has a Facebook page, and- as expected- there are some who support the ban, others who condemned it, and still others claiming Assad supporters are spreading rumours about the ban.  Bottom line, there is no way to tell exactly what is going on in Syria.

More Syrian Rebel Barbarism

We're about to officially supply arms and weapons to the Syrian rebels, and we all know some of those arms are going to end up in the hand of these barbarians.

According to Syrian Rebel Watch, the jihadists are from a mostly Chechen group Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar. You can see from the video that they're foreigners, both from their language and physical appearance.

Three blindfolded civilian men are kneeling as a crowd, including children, chanting Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) witness the beheading of two of the men. I assume the third was decapitated as well. It's horrific, inhumane, barbaric. These people are smiling, laughing and clicking away with their cellphones. And this is who the U.S. is indirectly supporting.

FSA General Wants Shariah For Syria, Demands West Supply Arms

Interviewed on Al-Jazeera, General Abdel Baset Tawileh, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Northern Front commander, was asked what "form of state" did he support. His answer:

"I would like to see a civilized state, with Islamic law."

Civilized and Islamic law in the same sentence is a joke, but he goes on to say that he also wants the army to have a "clear Islamic nature."

He also demands that the international community supply the FSA and rebels (the jihadist, Islamist militants who behead and eat people's internal organs) with arms and ammunition. He gives the world 1 month  to supply the weapons or the FSA will "reveal all the evidence we have (about use of chemical weapons)."  Not sure when the interview took place, since the alleged evidence has already been provided.

Of course, no mention of the fact that the rebel opposition have been caught with their own chemical weapons.

His interview here.

However, Bashar al-Assad is totally to blame for what is going on in that country. He's a nasty dictator. Had he made some changes when the people first started protesting, it would never have escalated to a civil war, and opened the door for the Islamists to take over.

Belgian Jihadists Behead Shiite Man In Syria And Film It

Those lovely Wahhabis, Salafis, Islamists (or whatever you choose to call the barbaric Muslim extremists waging jihad around the world) doing what they do best in a video that has surfaced from Syria- beheading a man.  What's more, some are foreigners- allegedly from Belgium- according to the Belgian news report below.

Speaking in Arabic and then Flemish and French, the jihadists targeted a man because he was Shiite, and probably pro-Assad.

The rebels, chanting "Allahu Akbar (Allah is greater)" first try to slice the man's head off, but then begin hacking at his throat after failing to make a clean cut.

The Flemish- and French-speaking Belgians, who may be among the hundred or so Belgians believed to have joined the fight against Syria's government, are heard complaining that the knife is dull, according to a translation of the video.

Note: The news report chose not to show the beheading, but it is still disgusting.

It's because of horrific incidents like this that "Allahu Akbar" has become such a loathesome and hated phrase.

Confessions Of A Disillusioned Syrian Rebel Fighter

Someone left a comment with a link to a video on the post I wrote about finding Syrian Islamist rebels with Sarin gas in Turkey.

It's a confession, of sorts, by a Lebanese friend of his who went to fight with the Free Syrian Army (FSA). However, he became disillusioned after witnessing atrocities perpetrated by the rebel jihadists who eventually took over his unit.

He says he got used to the jihadists arbitrarily killing Christians, Alawites or Kurds, or witnessing revenge rape of the women of men who had killed their buddies, although he, himself, did not condone the killing of "ordinary people", even those of other religions. He could also excuse his Islamist commanders using kids to spy on Assad's soldiers. But what prompted his swift return to Lebanon was when a jihadist tucked a bomb into the clothing of an unassuming child who was then blown to bits along with several of Assad's soldiers.

He also noticed that the liberated locals, although hating Assad, were not thrilled with their Islamist liberators either. He claims that many fighters who were idealistically drawn to Syria to fight for democracy and freedom- during the Arab Spring fervor- left soon after they realized the actual path the battle was taking. Many, however, have remained with the FSA, fearful of the Jihadists' revenge.

He wants a better life for Syrians and Lebanese, but he says that he doesn't want to change one dictatorship for another "where the interpreters of Shariah Law, and the Gulf monarchies which are stuck in the Middle Ages, will dictate to us their will."

This "friend" is a member of the Future Movement Party, a secular Lebanese political party headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Of course, this video like so many coming out of Syria is unverifiable.  But the man seems totally disillusioned by both sides.

Watch the video (with subtitles) here.

Video- Syrian UN Rep Talks About Rape of Women and Jordanian Cleric's Fatwa Encouraging It

The following video has two separate clips, the first is a speech by a Syrian envoy, Bashar al-Jaafri, at the United Nation  accusing the Islamist rebel forces in Syria of killing, raping, sexually assaulting and using these women and girls as sex slaves because of fatwas issued by Gulf state clerics. He also condemns the U.N. for standing by and doing nothing.

The second clip is of Jordanian Salafi cleric Yasir al-Ajlouni (who lived in Syria for 17 years) explaining one of those "sexual jihad" or "intercourse marriage" fatwas encouraging the Free Syrian Army rebels and Jihadist co-fighters to capture and enslave non-Sunni women in what he terms "Right Hand Property." He would like us to think that the goal of the "Right Hand Property" is to protect the honor of the woman who is forced into sexual slavery.  No matter how they sugarcoat it, it's still Islam-sanctioned rape.

He goes on to ask: "How do we deal with the woman that was made captive by the "Free Syrian Army" or by the Mujahideen?"  Islam has the answer with the "Right Hand Property" ruling that allows for sexual slavery during wars with the enemies of Islam. And the Syrian Alawites are considered just that- enemies.

How civilized. Capture and rape the women of your enemy, but their honor will remain intact because Islam says it's permitted through "Right Hand Property."

Sharia and No Infidels In Syria- Says Albanian Jihadist Fighter - Video

No doubt Bashar al-Assad is a tyrant, he has ranked in Parade Magazine's Top 10 World's Worst Dictators for many years. He was number 3 in 2011. And it's obvious he has massacred many of his own people, but what's actually going on in Syria is harder to determine since Islamist militants (many foreign) have joined the fight alongside the Free Syria Army (FSA). I will write more on this subject, but in the meantime, the following is a video of an alleged Albanian jihadist fighting in Syria against the Assad regime. According to the person who uploaded this video to YouTube:

This video footage of an Albanian jihadist in Syria shows him speaking in Arabic with an obvious non-Arab accent. He says that there are no more kuffar (infidels or non-Muslims) there anymore, that Sharia will rule, and that he and his buddies will go next to Jerusalem to do the same. These Wahhabis who encourage the ethnic cleansing of non-Muslims are being given the green light and all sorts of support by Western countries to go do their deeds in Syria, against a population whose ancestors have lived there for thousands of years.

Islamist Rebels Want Islamic State For Syria

After suffering through a civil war that has been ongoing since the uprising in March, 2011 the Syrians won't have much to look forward to, when it eventually ends, if some of the  rebel groups get their way.

Unfortunately, foreign fighters and Islamists have taken advantage of the armed conflict in that country and now want to establish an Islamic state in once-secular Syria. That is, of course, when President Bashar al-Assad is finally killed or exiled.

On November 11 in Qatar, the Syrian opposition created the National Coalition, but the rebel groups have flat out rejected it.

"We, the fighting squads of Aleppo city and province, unanimously reject the conspiratorial project called the National Coalition and announce our consensus to establish an Islamic state" in Syria, a spokesman announced in the video.

"We reject any external coalitions or councils imposed on us at home from any party whatsoever," he said.

The unidentified speaker sat at the head of a long conference table with at least 30 other men and a black Islamist flag on the wall behind him.

He listed 14 armed groups as signatories to the statement, including Ahrar al-Sham and Liwa al-Tawhid.

After the statement, another man held up a copy of the Koran, saying forcefully to the camera that it should be "your constitution."

"God is greatest," the group said in unison.

Not everyone, however, wants that for Syria.

Abdel Jabbar al-Okaidi, the head of the main rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the embattled northern city of Aleppo, said that the statement did not represent the opinion of all rebel groups in the province.

"These groups represent a number of military factions on the ground and reflect their position, but not all military forces in Aleppo agree with this," the defected former colonel said by phone.

"The military council has announced its support for the National Coalition and is collaborating with them," Okaidi added.

It's ironic that the Syrian people initially fighting for their freedom will eventually have it replaced by something even darker, if the Islamists indeed gain power.

All those deaths, well over 40,000 so far, for nothing.

Iran- US, Qatar and Turkey Responsible For Kidnapped Iranian "Pilgrims" In Damascus

You might have heard that a bunch of Iranian "pilgrims" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) were recently abducted by rebel insurgents in Syria, and that some were killed.  PressTV is reporting that Iran is now blaming Turkey, Qatar and the U.S. for supporting and arming the 'insurgents', and are therefore being held accountable for the lives of those who were kidnapped.

“We hold the Turkish government responsible for giving shelter to these armed groups and also if a criminal act is carried out by these groups, such as kidnapping Iranian citizens,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Monday.

“We also hold the Qatari government accountable. It is worth mentioning that the US is openly supporting the armed groups with ammunition,” he added.

“Today we sent a formal memoir to the interest section of the US government in the Swiss embassy, saying we hold Washington responsible for securing the lives of our nationals in Syria,” Abdullahian stated.

Responsible?  Responsible for 48 alleged "pilgrims" too stupid to realize that you don't wander into the middle of a WAR ZONE?  Those 'pilgrims' also happen to be all male and of fighting age. First of all, if you are fool enough to take a jaunt into a country that is in the midst of a civil war, pilgrimage or not, then you deserve what you get. And if they were indeed Revolutionary Guard on their way to help Assad's forces-  as the Free Syria Army (FSA) claims - then they too should suffer the consequences.

According to PressTV, the Syrian rebels have said that the three Iranians were killed by Assad's forces, but that they will retaliate by killing the others if the government doesn't stop attacking them. Supposedly, the 48 Iranians were on a bus on their way from Damascus International Airport to Hazrat Zainab's shrine when they were kidnapped on August 4.

However, anything PressTV reports is suspect. Others have said that all the Iranians are alive and well and in Turkey.

Who knows wherein lies the truth, but the bottom line: you don't travel into a war zone unless you are there to fight, report on the fighting, or help minister to those suffering and wounded.