FROM:
GLOBAL ATLANTIS LLC
Virginia Beach, Virginia USA
Virgina Home Office
International Services
TO:
Senator Buck McKeon, Chairman
Armed Services Committee
2216 Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
Fax: (202) 225-9077
Dear Senator McKeon
I have been deeply involved with the Syrian Revolution since the beginning as a writer, friend of the Syrian people, and advocate for their freedom from this century’s most tyrannical dictator. It is a privilege to be on the side of the Syrians who are desperately fighting for their freedom as their revolution is just. What started as a public request for civil rights by peaceful protest, became violent only after Assad turned the protests into scenes of violence. Bashar al-Assad is a “Human Monster that must be caged.”
It is well known that Assad believes he is not only the leader of Syria, but that he is “god.” This deity fixation has been passed on from the father to the son, as an inherited sickness. Children in Syria were taught in school to hold Hafez al-Assad and more recently Bashar al-Assad as exalted. Assad’s closest followers known as loyalists often chant at meetings, “Assad, Assad there is no other god but Bashar al-Assad.” There are videos where these male loyalists are seen holding photos of Assad, singing, dancing and chanting, then fall to the ground kissing his photo. Syrian conscripts in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) have been forced to say, “There is no other god than Assad.” If they refuse, it is grounds for execution.
Assad apparently believes his “god” station is higher than Allah or God!
As the Syrian Revolution swelled, Assad quickly labeled his opposition terrorists, giving him license to “degrade and destroy” them wherever he could find one of these terrorists who threatened the regime. It didn’t take long for the Assad regime to move from small fights with protesting crowds, to massacring villages of terrorists, including children using a “take no prisoners” approach. Initially, these attacks were done quietly, in the night where the perpetrators could not be identified, however, through survivors and investigation of evidence it was never hard to determine who was responsible.
Like any serial killer, the “thrill of the kill” has grown over time and the need for the kills to become grander has also become a need. There is no doubt that Assad is egocentric and narcissistic. The scary thing is that he is also is a sociopath and a psychopath. Bashar al-Assad is an extremely dangerous individual, who doesn’t care about anyone except himself and those that he believes can help preserve his one goal which is to keep him on his “throne.” He has made deals with “devils” to ensure his success, including Russia, Iran, Iraq (Malaki), Hezbollah and ISIS. Assad is the greatest terrorist in Syria, and the region just following Iran.
Assad’s “Deal” With ISIS
Assad’s “deal” with ISIS has been the most confusing for Western analysts and journalists to reconcile, but if you really understand Assad, it makes absolute sense. When Assad thought his hold on his throne was squishy, he and his Iranian counterparts revived ISIS, inviting them to come to Syria and disrupt the Syrian Revolution. The only criteria was that there would not be any direct “warring” between the two entities.
In my research with reputable Syrian Journalists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) for the opposition, there have been events where it looked like the regime and ISIS had clashed but within a few days all casualties turned up at a different site. The most notable example is the clash at Division 17 where 500 casualties were reported by SOHR as being from the regime, but all but 53 showed up at Division 93 within two days. This is a game that Assad and ISIS have worked out to make people believe they are enemies.
As time has gone on, Assad has demonstrated that he is more than willing to sacrifice his troops when necessary to give ISIS what they want. Again, this should not surprise anyone as the Syrian conscripts that are fighting in Assad’s army are primarily kids from poor areas (such as farms) and may be as young as 17 years of age, since Assad recently lowered the mandatory service age. These young soldiers are what the regime considers “expendable.” Many of them have even been executed on the battlefield by their own commanders, according to defectors because they refuse to shoot at the opposition. They shoot at the ground and hope they are not caught because they do not support Assad.
FSA Have Not Been Waiting For Handouts
When President Obama states he wants to fight ISIS, and wants the Syrian FSA to fall into the fight with the coalition, he must understand that fighting Assad is fighting ISIS. Assad will protect ISIS whenever possible. Also, as long as ISIS is the target for the US, the regime is free to continue their massacre of the Syrian people including women, children and infants at will.
Speaking about the FSA, there is a consistent round robin of conversations going on in Washington about arming the FSA. The same questions keep coming up about who the FSA are, and can the US trust them with US weapons. At this rate this round robin of questions seems like an excuse to “just not do it.” Yet President Obama has the gall to ask the FSA to join the coalition to fight against ISIS, as if they haven’t already been fighting ISIS already. The FSA has pointed out that they were pushing ISIS back consistently from Aleppo and Idlib with just light weapons and their DIY weapons until ISIS crossed to Iraq and took US heavy arms, on Iraqi soldiers’ watch. These were Iraqi soldiers trained by the US, who walked away from a whole military “gold mine,” and now ISIS are using those weapons in Syria against the FSA.
The FSA, Army of Islam, and the Islamic Front have been fighting formidable enemies for four years and are still fighting. They have been fighting the Assad regime backed by Russian “Advisors” (on the ground), Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Iraqi soldiers, Hezbollah, and for almost three years ISIS has come into the fight. This is the same FSA that President Obama has repeatedly insulted by saying they are untrained, don’t know what they are doing, that they are just farmers and shopkeepers. The FSA are patriots of their country – they are Muslims, Alawites, Druze, Christians and Kurds. There are a high number of defectors from Assad’s Syrian Arab Army, both officers and regular army – those that the regime didn’t catch and execute for attempting to defect. The President has said that Assad’s army is more highly trained, however, they are also farmers and shopkeepers. The difference is that they are managed by fear of death … not by the enemy but by their own commanders.
Recommendations
- The FSA and the Army of Islam should be immediately armed with the type of weapons that can give them the ability to fight fairly. MPADs or other weapons that allow the FSA to shoot Assad’s helicopters down prior to their being able to drop TNT or Chlorine Gas filled barrel bombs is critically needed.
- Provide a team of special advisors on the ground into Syria to train the FSA in place. Since President Obama and the American people do not want the US military to go to Syria, I recommend sending a private group of advisors who will go voluntarily and do a great job.
- Disable Assad’s ability to use his jet power to attack Syrians by disabling Syrian Air Force runways. Also, there is positive evidence that ISIS has been trained by an ex-Iraqi air force pilot to fly “captured” regime fighter jets. They now have three jets in their armament in Syria. The runways where these planes are located also need to be destroyed, and these jets need to be watched to ensure they do not move somehow by truck/trailer to a different location.
- A safety zone needs to be implemented along the Syria – Turkish border. This safety zone will provide a safe place for Syrian Red Crescent, medics and physicians to treat the wounded at a single point. It will also secure an avenue for Syrians to cross into Turkey for emergency medical care, food, supplies and other necessities. Additionally, NGO’s use the Turkey route to bring humanitarian aid into Syria, and they go to Turkey for supplies, respite and travel.
If the US continues on their current path of focusing on “fighting ISIS in Iraq” the “destruction & defeat” of ISIS that President Obama has been promising will unequivocally fail. The leaders of ISIS are not stupid. On the contrary, they are smart with vision and know how to act on it. They are terrorists on a mission … they have pledged to “take retribution out on all the regimes that have done wrong to their kind.” In order to accomplish this goal, they have invoked a “cool” recruiting campaign that includes slick marketing, promises of a grand future, and then there is always “Abdullah the Imam” from the Netherlands who travels around Syria in a “worship van.” Abdullah’s job is to travel around with his young son spreading the ISIS version of “the gospel.”
The biggest draw for Syrian fighters to jump to ISIS is not the “ISIS gospel,” rather it is the money. Recently an entire brigade jumped over to ISIS. It has nothing to do with change of belief, a new commitment to terrorism. It is purely economics. The FSA can only afford to pay their fighters $60 per month, which has to take care of all of their personal expenses, with nothing left over for their families, which is demoralizing. In the Middle East, a man’s honor is tied to taking care of his family. ISIS pays their fighters $600 per month, provides towns for their families to live in (such as Raqqa) and offers services in their towns such as subsidized groceries, physicians, and schools for children. In Aleppo, a loaf of bread costs $600 SY PD today. A year ago it was $200 SY PD.
ISIS leaders are fast thinkers, are very agile, have plenty of money at their disposal, primarily due to their sale of Syrian Oil at 30% of OPEC rates. The primary customer of ISIS oil is the Assad regime. Whatever oil they have left over goes to Turkey and is sold on the black market. They sell Syrian antiquities on the black market. However, the worst business ISIS has been in for the past two years in Syria is human trafficking. They sell girls, women and even boys into sex slavery.
NOTE: Human trafficking has been happening by ISIS in Syria since they moved in over two years ago. It is interesting how in public press meetings, the US only acknowledged this issue in Iraq and expresses disdain. However, our US leaders said nothing about what the Syrian women have been experiencing for years. This was a “hurtful slap in the face for all Syrian women” who have been raped and tortured at the hands of ISIS.
I hope that this information gives you an additional perspective of what is going on in Syria, or at the very least reinforces information that you may be considering.
Below is a reference for my credibility:
Nehad Ismail, a writer/broadcaster/media consultant and commentator on Middle Eastern Issues based in London had this to say: “Kimberly is an intelligent, authentic and charismatic individual. Her first interest when she takes on a new project is how the solution is going to impact people. Kimberly understands the big picture, yet she is able to work down to an end-to-end solution never worried about getting her hands muddy. Whether she is working on a business project or evaluating a geopolitical issue in the Middle East, you can be sure she will have done her homework and fully understands the situation at hand. Kimberly is a trusted analyst on Middle Eastern issues, and has demonstrated that she has a strong understanding of the culture and complexities of the region.”
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Respectfully,
President
Global Atlantis LLC
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