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“It will not work.”The officials said the briefings occurred in the fall. The FBI commonly provides defensive briefings to senior officials when the bureau learns they have been targeted by foreign intelligence operations. Several members of the House Intelligence Committee and select House committee on the CCP declined to comment when asked if they had received a classified briefing on the matter. U.S. intelligence officials and analysts say China’s efforts to stoke polarization and undercut Americans’ confidence in the democratic process are part of a long-term effort that includes global information operations designed to tarnish America’s image abroad. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington responded to that allegation this month by saying: “China firmly opposes the US’s smear attacks against China without any factual basis.”

Persons: WASHINGTON, FBI briefers, ”, Nancy Pelosi, Newt Gingrich, Lai Ching, Mike McCaul, Lai, John Moolenaar, ” Moolenaar, Barry Moore, Sen, Marsha Blackburn Organizations: FBI, Chinese Communist Party, NBC News, U.S, CCP, “, House Foreign, House Intelligence, Microsoft, Embassy, White Locations: Beijing, Taiwan, ”, Washington, U.S, Asia, China, Taipei, Texas, stoke

☆ Freed prisoner who said he was a victim of the Assad regime was an intelligence officer, locals say
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-16 | by ( Tim Lister | Eyad Kourdi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In a video report, chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward and her team, accompanied by a rebel guard, came across a cell in a Damascus jail that was padlocked from the outside. He was being held in a jail that had been run by the Syrian air force’s intelligence services until the Assad regime collapsed. Facial recognition software provided a match of more than 99 percent with the man CNN met in the Damascus prison cell. It’s unclear how or why Salama ended up in the Damascus jail, and CNN has not been able to reestablish contact with him. The medical relief organization later posted a picture of him on social media, saying they had returned a freed prisoner to relatives in Damascus.

Persons: Austin Tice, Clarissa Ward, Adel Ghurbal, Assad, –, Salama Mohammad Salama, Salama, Abu Hamza, Sy, ” Organizations: CNN, Assad regime’s Air Force Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, ” CNN, Crescent Locations: Damascus, Syrian, Homs

“I’m telling you, I was not afraid,” the pastor told NBC News Wednesday. Its rise is particularly vexing for Syria’s religious minorities, who were often pitted against each other during the ironfisted rule of Assad and the years of civil war. “Maybe there will be a civil war. Khatab Shawi told NBC News he might go and fight in Gaza. One of the young militiamen insisted that Syria’s minorities had nothing to fear under the new regime.

Persons: Bashar al, Rafaat Abul Nasser’s Lady, “, Paul, ”, Nasser, Rafaat Abul Nasser, Matt Bradley, Al, ” Mohammad al, Bashir, Ahmad al, Abu Mohammad al, Assad, Ammar Shahbander, ” Shahbander, Jolani, Khatab Shawi, Abdulwahed Organizations: NBC, Hayat, Islamic, della, U.S . State Department, United Nations Commission, “, NBC News Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Damascus Church, Damascus, Al Qaeda, Islamic State, United States, Europe, Idlib, Syria’s, Lebanon, Aleppo, Gaza, Netherlands, Nasser’s

☆ US has had direct contact with Syrian rebel group, Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-14 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Aqaba, Jordan CNN —The United States has had direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Syrian rebel group now in de-facto control of the country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday. “Yes, we’ve been in contact with HTS and the other parties,” Blinken said at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan. Blinken did not give details on when the contact was made or at what level. “This is a moment of vulnerability in which ISIS will seek to regroup, taking the advantage of transition in Syria,” Blinken said Saturday, reemphasizing the importance of the SDF. The US, however, has not condemned the move, with Blinken saying that they are talking with the Israeli government.

Persons: Tahrir, Antony Blinken, Bashar al, we’ve, ” Blinken, Blinken, Austin Tice, Assad, “, ”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hakan Fidan, Mohammed Shia, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, that’s, —, …, Israel, Trump Organizations: Jordan CNN, US, Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS, Iraqi, United Nations Locations: Aqaba, Jordan, United States, Syria, Saturday, Turkey, Iraq, America, Turkish, Manbij, Ankara, Baghdad, Iran, —, Golan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, ”

☆ Syria’s tortured prisoners: The dead, the missing and the reunited
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-13 | by ( Salma Abdelaziz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Yet many more of the missing have yet to be found, and hopes are fading with each passing hour. In Europe, he rose to prominence after detailing the torture he endured in a regime prison in a 2017 documentary. “Justice for me and my friends that were killed.”And he kept fighting for the cause he loved most – a free Syria. They wanted to be a security state that killed people if they even breathed against the regime.”Al-Hamada’s story is emblematic of Syria’s suffering. After being held incommunicado for months and possibly tortured, Tal was accused of spying for America, an outlandish charge for a teenage blogger.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Mazen, Hamada, al, Deir Ezzor, ”, gaunt, “, Marco Rubio, Omar Alshogre, ” Alshogre, Abbasi, Rania al, Naila, ” Naila, Rania, Alabbasi, “ It’s, Hafez al, Rami Al Sayed, Tal, Ahd, Tal al, Mallouhi, ” Ahd Organizations: CNN, Syrian, Human Rights, Air Force Intelligence, White House, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Al, Washington DC, ”, Getty, Amnesty, US State Department, United Nations, Amnesty International, Supreme, Security, Social Media, AFP Locations: Deir Ezzor, Damascus, Al, Syria, Netherlands, Europe, United States, Washington, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, AFP, Homs, America

☆ Analysis: Assad exhibited little of the tackiness of Iraq’s Saddam. But his rule was just as brutal
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-12 | by ( Ivan Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, a fellow secular Baathist like Assad, had been executed just six months earlier. But Syria’s then leader, who had succeeded his father Hafez seven years before, represented a stable contrast to the chaos engulfing neighboring Iraq. Assad met us without a large entourage, folding his long body into a chair at the head of the room. An armed man walks through the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, on December 10, 2024. People inspect documents they found in the infamous Saydnaya military prison, just north of Damascus, Syria, on December 9, 2024.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Saddam Hussein, Syria’s, Hafez, Little, Ali Haj Suleiman, Assad wasn’t, Saddam, Bentley, Basat al, “, ”, Tariq, Hussein Malla, Basat al reeh, Falaqa, Ghaith, Asma, Bashar Assad, Zein, Karim Organizations: CNN, National Public, Lamborghini, Royce, Brotherhood, Syrian, Syrian Presidency Locations: Iraq, Damascus, Syria, Lebanon, Latakia, Turkey, Idlib, Iran, Russia, Saydnaya, Syrian, Hama, British, Gaza, Aleppo, Old City

☆ At Syria’s border with Lebanon, refugees return home while others flee fearing the worst
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-12 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Masnaa, Lebanon’s border with Syria CNN —Nadia’s eyes were full of tears as she crossed the border from Syria to Lebanon. People cross from Syria into Lebanon at the Masnaa border crossing on Wednesday, December 11. My brother is there, I have not seen him in 11 years,” Mohammed told CNN. And there are so many children,” Fatima, a young woman trying to get into Lebanon, told CNN. As Nadia and Saiman continued their journey to Beirut, Mohammed, his wife and their four sons headed the other way.

Persons: Syria CNN —, Nadia, Saiman, Sydra, Mohammed, Syria’s, Bashar al, Assad, what’s, Ivana Kottasova, “, ” Mohammed, It’s, didn’t, ‘, Amani, Hassan Nasrallah, ”, Nasrallah, Diaa, CNN Diaa, CNN Israel, ” Diaa, regime’s, ” Fatima, Fatima, He’s, ” Saiman Organizations: Syria CNN, Taxi, CNN, Hezbollah, Syria, Lebanese General Security, Lebanese Locations: Lebanon’s, Syria, Lebanon, Germany, Hasaka, Nadia, Beirut, Masnaa, Damascus, Lebanese, Israel, Iran, Kurdish, “ Lebanon, Islam, Turkey, al Qaeda

☆ This is what 4 of Trump’s cabinet picks think of the agencies they would lead.
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-12 | by ( Linda Qiu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

This is what 4 of Trump’s cabinet picks think of the agencies they would lead. If confirmed, Ms. Gabbard would oversee more than a dozen spy agencies and have access to highly sensitive intelligence. by firing its top officials, closing its headquarters in Washington and going after Mr. Trump’s rivals. But that case is not particularly relevant to Mr. Trump’s, as a federal judge ruled that the audiotapes were personal records. The letter does not contain evidence that Ms. Bowser turned down Mr. Trump’s authorization of additional National Guard troops.

Persons: Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kash Patel, Donald J, Trump, Hegseth, “, Biden, ”, who've, Gabbard, “ Tucker Carlson, Victoria Nuland, Nuland, Carlson mischaracterized Ms, Nuland’s, Ms, mischaracterizing, General Merrick B, Garland, ’, ” Ms, Kash Patel F.B.I, Mr, Patel, Shawn Ryan’s, Shawn Ryan, ” Mr, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Clinton, Trump’s, Nancy Pelosi, Steve Bannon’s, Stephen Bannon, Pelosi, Muriel Bowser, Bowser, Kennedy, Kennedy’s, PolitiFact Organizations: Fox News, Fox, Pentagon, Army, Democratic Party, Trump, Ukraine, Russia, YouTube, United Nations, State Department, Mr, Justice Department, Presidential, National Archives, Records Administration, House Republicans, Capitol, Capitol Police, D.C, National Guard, Kennedy Jr, Health, Democratic, Louisiana House, ”, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention Locations: Washington, Afghanistan, United States, China, ideologues, Hawaii, Ukraine, Trump’s Florida, Louisiana

☆ Inside Syria's Saydnaya prison and GOP considers how to push Trump agenda: Morning Rundown
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-11 | by ( Elizabeth Robinson | Elizabeth Robinson Is A Newsletter Editor For Nbc News | Based In Los Angeles. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

One of Syria’s most notorious jails contains evidence of the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent. One woman NBC News spoke to had come in search of her son who had been missing for a decade. While Syrians grapple with the end of the regime, the country’s neighbor Israel moved into its territory in a new offensive. Read All About ItThe Bureau of Labor Statistics today will release the consumer price index for November, with analysts expecting 0.3% growth month over month. for November, with analysts expecting 0.3% growth month over month.

Persons: Assad, Assad’s, Bashar al, Israel, Israel Katz, Luigi Mangione, Brian Thompson, Thomas Dickey, Mangione, “ It’s, They’re, Ted Kaczynski, ”, Kaczynski, Donald Trump, John Thune, Jason Smith, Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Tom Barrack, Letitia James, Trump’s, Sen, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Todd, Anuj Shrestha, Obteen Nassiri, Alex Jones ’ Infowars, Joe Burrow’s, Freddie Harb, Robert Mavaddat, Alex Welsh, they’ve, — Lewis Kamb, Elizabeth Robinson Organizations: Amnesty, NBC, Israeli Defense, Republican, GOP, Fox News, Trump, Secret Service, New York, Med Ed Labs, U.S ., Labor Statistics, Franklin, Kroger, Albertsons, Cincinnati Bengals, NBC News, U.S, Small, Administration, Social Security Locations: Damascus, Syria, Israel, Russia, Pennsylvania, New York, Blair, Mangione, Greece, Turkey, Michigan, Las Vegas, Malibu , California

If confirmed, the discovery would support claims by the United States and others that the Assad regime had been involved in actively exporting the drug. Captagon has become a significant social problem in neighboring Arab nations and spurred some of them to engage in talks with the former Syrian regime to curb its trafficking. It is believed to have become an economic lifeline for the Assad regime while it was under crippling American sanctions. This week, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported the discovery of thousands of captagon pills at the Mazzeh airbase south of Damascus. Last year, the US Treasury sanctioned a number of Syrians closely associated with the Assad regime for their alleged involvement captagon trade.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad’s, Maher, Assad, Captagon, Al Arabiya, Bashar al Assad, Khalid Qaddour, Maher al, Mohammad al Jolani –, Biden, ”, –, captagon Organizations: CNN, Social, ”, Al, Air Force Intelligence, US Treasury, Treasury, Hezbollah, Carnegie Endowment, UN, Drugs, East Institute Locations: Syria, Damascus, United States, Saudi, Latakia, Jordanian, Iraqi, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, “, Gulf, Beirut, captagon

☆ U.S. indicts 2 former Syrian officials, accuses them of torturing prisoners
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-10 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Patrick-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Patrick Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The Justice Department's indictment accuses them of "cruel and unusual treatment" of civilian prisoners at the Mezzeh Military Airport near Damascus. Emin Sansar / Anadolu via Getty ImagesThe U.S. is the latest country to issue a warrant against Mahmoud and Hassan, following Germany in 2018. The U.S. has placed sanctions on Assad and his inner circle — including Hassan — since 2012. The indictment lists in detail the torture allegedly meted out at the direction of Hassan and Mahmoud. "Hassan and Mahmoud allegedly oversaw the systematic use of torture and cruelty on perceived enemies of the Syrian regime, including American citizens," said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad's, Jamil Hassan, Abdul Salam Mahmoud, Department's, Assad, Prosecutors, Emin Sansar, Mahmoud, Hassan, Hassan —, Merrick B, Garland, Christopher Wray Organizations: Syrian Air Force, Mezzeh, United States, Court, Sunday, Baath Party, Getty, Syrian Air Force Intelligence Locations: United States, Damascus, Chicago, Anadolu, Germany, U.S, Mezzeh, Syria's

Saydnaya, Syria CNN —As Syrians rejoiced across the country this week, many began the frantic search for missing loved ones who had been forcibly disappeared under Bashar al-Assad’s brutal dictatorship. Crowds have descended on the notorious Saydnaya prison, which had become synonymous with arbitrary detention, torture and murder. People gather at the Saydnaya prison near Damascus, Syria, on December 9, 2024. For the sake of Allah, help them.”A long traffic jam as people gathered at the Saydnaya prison in Syria on December 9, 2024. People wait as the volunteer group Syrian Civil Defense investigated the inside of Saydnaya Prison after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria on December 9, 2024.

Persons: Bashar al, Omar Haj Kadour, Assad, Saydnaya, “ Allahu Akbar ”, Maysoon Labut, Labut, ”, “, Allah, they’d, Mounir Al, Fakir, Anagha Subhash Nair, Suheil Hamawi, ” Hamawi, “ I’ve, ’ ” Hamawi Organizations: Syria CNN, Getty, Amnesty, CNN, Syrian Civil Defense, Anadolu, AFP Locations: Saydnaya, Syria, Damascus, AFP, Russia, Dara’a, Syrian, Lebanese, Chekka

The swift collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime represents a devastating defeat for Iran, the latest in a string of setbacks that have punctured long held assumptions in the West about Tehran’s military prowess. As the rebels pressed ahead, there was no concerted effort to stop the advance with Russian warplanes or Iranian-backed proxy forces. “Assad was effectively abandoned because his only friends ... Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, no longer had the capacity to help,” the official added. The United States and other governments had feared an Israeli attack on Iran would produce an overwhelming response against Israel by Iran’s proxies. Those officers had decades of experience in Syria and a network of contacts among the militants in Iran’s proxy network, including Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, Yemenis and others.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, ”, “ Assad, Iran’s, “, Israel, Norman Roule, Alex Vatanka, Vatanka, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, ” Abtahi, Roule, Soleimani, ” Roule, Qassem Soleimani, ’, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, Yahya Sinwar, Marc Polymeropoulos, ” Polymeropoulos, Sen, Andy Kim, ” Kim, Donald Trump, ” Vatanka Organizations: Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Russian, Biden, U.S ., United Against Nuclear, Middle East Institute, Hezbollah, Revolutionary Guard Corps ’, Revolutionary Guard Corps ’ Quds Force, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Force, CIA, MSNBC, U.N Locations: Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Tehran, Russia, Damascus, Iranian, Iraq, Aleppo, Israel, Washington, United States, Gaza, Yemen, U.S, United Against Nuclear Iran, Revolutionary Guard Corps ’ Quds, Baghdad, Yemenis

He did so as the rebels entered and seized Damascus, seemingly with little fightback from Assad’s government forces. Syria dominated international consciousness for almost a decade, its civil war erupting after Assad crushed peaceful protests during the region-wide 2011 Arab Spring. But until last month the conflict had been largely at a stalemate, after Assad’s forces regained control of much of the country. The conflict in Syria partly contributed to a wave of mass migration into Europe, met by a right-wing backlash across the continent that is still reverberating today. Much of this diaspora has also responded to Assad’s downfall with astonished glee, some rushing to return home.

Persons: Dimitry Peskov, Assad, Murat Sengul, gulags, Hayat Tahrir, Abu Mohammad al Organizations: Baath Party, Getty, UNHCR, Amnesty, Al, State Department Locations: Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, Moscow, Syria, U.S, Turkey, Iraq, Anadolu, Europe, London, Berlin, Germany, Al Qaeda

Celebrations broke out across Syria over the weekend, with statues depicting his father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, pulled down from their pedestals. “I’m not looking to go back into the past,” Trump said when asked he was whether he would go after outgoing President Joe Biden. Foreign dignitaries in attendance included President-elect Donald Trump, first lady Jill Biden, Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. South Korean president’s impeachment failsAn image of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is raised at a rally in Seoul calling for his ouster on Dec. 5. End of an Era(s)Tears will be ricocheting as Taylor Swift's record-shattering world tour draws to a close Sunday night with a final stop in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Persons: Assad, Bashar al, Hafez al, Hassan Abdul, Ghani, Joe Biden, Trump, Donald Trump, Kristen Welker, ” Trump, Pam Bondi, Jack Smith, “, Biden, Kash Patel, ’, Trump’s, Jay, Sean Combs Jay, Bauer, Griffin, Shawn Carter, Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, Jane Doe, ”, Combs, Carter, ” Carter, Brian Thompson, Notre Dame, Jill Biden, Prince William, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Emmanuel Macron, Yoon Suk, Anthony Wallace, Yoon, ” Yoon, Taylor Organizations: U.S, United Nations, Capitol, NBC, Press, Justice Department, Trump, Lone Star, FBI, MTV, of, NBC News, New York police, NYPD, Notre, Notre Dame, Zelenskyy, Getty, South, Federal Locations: Damascus, Moscow, Syria, Hayat Tahrir, Al Qaeda, Free Syria, Texas, Los Angeles, Southern, of New York, Notre, Massachusetts, Seoul, AFP, Vancouver , British Columbia

☆ US charges two former Syrian officials for allegedly torturing Americans and Syrian nationals
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-09 | by ( Jack Forrest | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Two former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officials have been charged with war crimes for allegedly torturing Americans and other civilians who were deemed enemies by the Syrian government and held in a military prison, the Department of Justice said Monday. They were charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes through cruel and inhuman treatment, according to an unsealed indictment filed in federal court in Chicago. Warrants for their arrests have been issued, and they remain at large, the Justice Department said. “The Justice Department has a long memory, and we will never stop working to find and bring to justice those who tortured Americans,” he said. “Hassan and Mahmoud allegedly oversaw the systematic use of cruel and inhumane treatment on perceived enemies of the Syrian regime, including American citizens,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Jamil Hassan, Abdul Salam Mahmoud, “, General Merrick Garland, ”, —, Hassan, Mahmoud, Lisa Monaco, “ Hassan, Christopher Wray, Rob Picheta, Helen Regan, Holmes Lybrand, Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez Organizations: CNN, Department of Justice, Mezzeh, Justice Department, Syrian, The Justice Department, U.S, FBI, Damascus “, United Nations Locations: Syrian, Damascus, Chicago, American, Ukraine, ”, Russia, Syria

☆ Biden offers a blueprint for US support in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-08 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —President Joe Biden detailed some initial next steps his administration will take following the extraordinary fall of the Assad regime in Syria, offering a blueprint for how the US plans to support to the region amid a moment of instability. In remarks from the White House on Sunday, Biden called the regime’s fall “a moment of risk” and of opportunity. “It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country. The Biden administration also plans to engage with Syrian groups as the country transitions toward a new government, he said. One of the key rebel groups leading the offensive, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, has been designated by the US as a terrorist organization.

Persons: Joe Biden, Assad, Biden, “, It’s, ”, ” Biden, Roosevelt Organizations: CNN, White, Sunday, ISIS, United Nations, US Locations: Syria, United States, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Hayat Tahrir

☆ Bashar al-Assad: The brutal leader whose family ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than 50 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-08 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The United States, Jordan, Turkey and the European Union at the war’s start all called for Assad to step down. Testament to the horror of that regime were scenes of jubilant celebration as rebel forces took control of Syrian cities. Bashar al-Assad, center, is seen during the closing session of the ruling Baath party congress in Damascus, Syria, on June 20, 2000. Bashar al-Assad was then thrust into the national spotlight and studied military science, later becoming a colonel in the Syrian army. They then turned to outright condemnation of the regime after he met the 2011 pro-democracy groundswell with brutal force.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Assad’s, SANA, Hafez al, Bassel, Hafez, Asma al, Barack Obama, ” Assad, ”, Syria's, Mohammed al, Ban, Washington, Syria wouldn’t Organizations: CNN, ISIS, European Union, Baath Party, Muslim, Hezbollah, Getty, UN, United Nations Locations: Syria, United States, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, Iran, Homs, Damascus, Soviet, Hama –, London, Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Assad, Hama, AFP, States, Western, US

☆ Democrats and Republicans in Congress worried that Gabbard might leak information to Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-07 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +15 min

The aides were concerned Gabbard might leak the name of the defector, who had hidden his identity out of fear of reprisals from the Assad regime. In the past, Caesar had spoken privately to members of Congress without his face covered when Gabbard was not present. The Assad regime brutally crushed peaceful political protests in 2011, firing on unarmed demonstrators and carrying out mass arrests and torture. As the war intensified, Gabbard’s sympathetic statements about the Russian-backed Assad regime raised eyebrows and alarmed her colleagues. “She basically completely adopted the Assad regime propaganda, where she suggested falsely that the U.S. was supporting terrorist extremists in Syria, and didn’t mention that the Assad regime had been slaughtering fellow Syrians there,” the former official said.

Persons: Assad, Tulsi Gabbard, Bashar al, Caesar, ”, Gabbard, Tulsi doesn’t, Mouaz Moustafa, Donald Trump, Alexa Henning, Donald Trump’s, Henning, Seth Moulton of, nodded, Moustafa, “, ” Moustafa, Josh Rogin, Drew Angerer, ” Henning, Obama, Ryan Grimm, Trump, Republican Sen, James Lankford of, Bashar Assad, we’ll, ” Lankford, Nikki Haley, Gabbard’s, that’s, ” Haley Organizations: House Foreign Affairs, Democratic, Republican, Syrian Emergency, Force, NBC News, Trump, Army Reserve, U.S . House, Representatives, Gabbard, Capitol, Democratic Party, Army National Guard, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Moustafa, ISIS, Washington, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Lebanese Hezbollah, Capitol Hill, U.S, Ambassador, United Nations, Organization for, Chemical Weapons, CNN, United, Republicans, Senate Intelligence, NATO, Sirius XM Locations: Syrian, Damascus, U.S, Russia, Syria, Iranian, Iraq, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Turkish, Gaziantep, Gabbard, Lebanese, Lebanon, United States, Washington, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Carolina, Ukraine

☆ Distant wars waged by Israel and Russia changed Syria’s fortune. What comes next is impossible to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-07 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But the war of attrition has left Russia “incapable” of assisting Assad, even President-elect Donald Trump noted on Saturday. But this is one seized by Turkey, a NATO member which has dealt with the most fallout from Syria’s turmoil. Adem Altan/AFP/Getty ImagesThe unknowable impact of vast, fast change left Syria mired in half-policies and US inaction before. This may prove the swift and severe change that Syria needed to stabilize – a shaking of the carpet that leaves society smoother. Syria’s past 13 years have been so brutal it deserves exactly that.

Persons: George W Bush, Obama, Donald Trump, Bashar al, Assad, Ghaith, Sergei Lavrov, ”, Hayat Tahrir, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Erdogan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Adem Altan, Barack Obama, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, US, NATO, Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS, Getty Locations: Syria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Hama, Homs, Damascus, Ghouta, Beirut, Donetsk, Syrian, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Ankara, Turkish, Ireland, Afghanistan, AFP

HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani speaks to CNN in an interview. “When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. Then on Friday, streams of civilians have been seen fleeing Homs, ahead of potential hostilities between regime forces, and rebel forces who charged towards the city. Human rights warnings: Syria’s rebel fighters have a shared goal of crunching Assad’s dynastic grip on power. Human rights advocates also raised concerns over HTS’ recent treatment of political dissidents in Idlib, in northwestern Syria.

Persons: Abu Mohammad al, Bashar al, Assad, apace, ” Abu Mohammad al, Hayat, ”, Jolani, crunching, – Organizations: CNN, United, Terrorist Organization Locations: Hayat Tahrir, Aleppo, Hama, Homs, al Qaeda, Idlib, Syria, United States

Syria CNN —The goal of Syria’s rebel coalition, as it wrests another major city from government control this week, is ultimately to overthrow authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the militant leader of the main group driving the country’s armed opposition. Syria’s opposition forces are decentralized and made up of different ideologies, albeit united by a common goal of upending the Assad regime. As CNN sat down to interview al-Jolani, news broke that forces under his command had captured the city of Hama. Al-Jolani told CNN that incidents of abuse in prisons “were not done under our orders or directions” and HTS had already held those involved accountable. “We are talking about a larger project – we are talking about building Syria,” Al-Jolani continued.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Abu Mohammad al, Jolani, Hayat, ”, Abdulaziz Ketaz, upending, “, al, Al Nusra, Al Jazeera, – Ahmed al, –, Ibrahim Hatib, chokehold, ” Al, “ Hayat, Sham, ” CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Isil Sariyuce Organizations: Syria CNN, CNN, Getty, United, Terrorist Organization, Organization for, United Nations, Foreign Terrorist Organization, “, Al, Air Defense Brigade, Assad Russian, Iran’s, Guard, Syrian Air Force, Russian Locations: Syria, Hayat Tahrir, Qaeda, Syrian, Hama, AFP, Aleppo, Iran, Russia, al Qaeda, United States, Al, Iraq, US, Turkey, Idlib, Anadolu, ”, “ Hayat Tahrir

☆ Georgian protesters detail brutal beatings by special forces
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-06 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

A week of fierce demonstrations in Georgia has seen special forces violently handling protesters who are challenging the government’s controversial decision to delay its bid to join the European Union. Watchdogs say that many of the scores of people arrested over the past week have been subjected to brutal treatment by police and special forces. CNN spoke to 10 protesters, including five journalists and an opposition politician, who said they were beaten by special forces – masked, unidentifiable men. Mariam Nikuradze, a reporter at OC Media, said the special forces get “angry” when they see their actions being filmed. Giorgi Arjevanidze/AFP/Getty Images‘Men in black’Critics are troubled by the government’s growing reliance on these special forces to try to stem protests.

Persons: Giorgi Arjevanidze, –, Irakli Kobakhidze, Aleksandre, Salome Zourabichvili, “, ” Keshelashvili, Keshelashvili, ‘ I’m, ’ ” Keshelashvili, ”, Rogava, Zourabichvili, Mariam Nikuradze, I’ve, ” Nikuradze, …, ” Erekle, ” Loladze, Shota Murtskhvaladze, ” Zourabichvili, Elene Khoshtaria, Khoshtaria, “ Elene, Nika Gvaramia, Gvaramia, Giorgi Gamgebeli, Will Organizations: CNN, European Union, Soviet, country’s Ministry, Internal Affairs, Getty, EU, Georgian, Formula TV, OC Media, Georgian Young Lawyers ’ Association, Police, Coalition for Locations: Georgia, Tbilisi, AFP, Georgian, Russia, aFP, Belarus

☆ Hundreds flee Syrian city of Homs as rebels advance further south
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-06 | by ( Eyad Kourdi | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Hundreds of people appear to have fled the central Syrian city of Homs overnight into Friday, as anti-regime rebels push further south on the road to the capital Damascus. It is not clear whether regime forces will be able to defend the city of Homs, about an hour’s drive south of Hama. CNN was unable to reach multiple contacts in Homs on Friday, amid reports of an internet blackout as the rebels approached the city. I swear to God, we are inside Hama city, we are inside Aleppo city,” a fighter cheered as he filmed himself by Alaarbaen Roundabout in Hama. Residents cheer as the rebels pour into the captured city of Hama on Friday.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, ”, Abu Mohammad al, Alawites, Assad’s, –, Alaarbaen, Hafez al, Assad –, Muhammad Haj Kadour, Jolani, Russia – Organizations: CNN, Getty, Jolani, United Nations Locations: Syrian, Homs, Damascus, Hama, Jolani, Idlib, Aleppo, ”, Hama’s, AFP, Saudi Arabia, United States, Iran, Russia

☆ The illusion of Assad’s grip on Syria shatters, as Russia, Iran and Hezbollah let their guard down
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-30 | by ( Ben Wedeman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

There were moments when the Bashar regime’s survival looked in doubt. Once shunned by his fellow Arab autocrats, Bashar al-Assad was gradually regaining the dubious respectability Arab regimes afford one another. Had Bashar al-Assad won? A Syrian opposition flag above a market square in central Aleppo on November 30, 2024. Muhammad Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty ImagesThe obvious explanation is that Syria’s key allies – Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah – are all under pressure and let their guard down.

Persons: CNN — “, ”, Hafez al, Assad, today’s, Bashar al, Bashar, Russia –, autocrats, Ali Jarekji, Sham –, Muhammad Haj Kadour, –, Israel Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Muslim, Getty Locations: Syria, Aleppo, autocrats, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, Russia, Damascus, Turkish, Israel, Idlib, Hama, AFP, – Russia, shoring, Ukraine

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