For years, western governments had been hoping for a fall of the violent Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. As the old saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” At the end of December 2024, opposition forces attacked a weakened Assad regime, and the government collapsed like a house of cards.
Suddenly, a new sheriff came riding into town named Ahmed al-Sharaa. Well-groomed, dressed in a business suit, many people sighed with relief. Others, though, said, “Wait, isn’t that guy also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani? You know, the fatigue-wearing butcher who used to be part of al-Qaeda?” But the western governments and their toady media outlets quickly hushed up the dissenters, saying, “Maybe, but that was then, and this is now. And, sure, the group he heads – we’ll just call it HTS because it sounds nicer than those scary Arab-sounding words behind the initials – was designated a terrorist organization by a number of countries, including both the United States and Russia, oh, and the United Nations and the EU, too, but…hey, did I mention how nice he looks in his suit?”
It’s true, al-Sharaa and his people really did their best to keep their terrorist ways hidden away from the media and prying western eyes. But then the Alawites, the minority population from which came Bashar al-Assad, decided to attempt a revolt. Of course, they did this without Assad, who is busy in Moscow enjoying the billions that he stole from the people of Syria. Launching from the Mediterranean coast, this rebellion was ill-conceived and quickly quashed. And then the bloodshed began.
Once a terrorist, always a terrorist. Videos of mass executions, tortures, and humiliations began to leak out. There was no questioning their veracity, because they were being taken as the massacres happened by the perpetrators themselves. In Hamas fashion, the HTS soldiers forced the Alawites to crawl on all fours and bark like dogs, before shooting them in the head. Some even rode on their backs before executing them in cold blood. When word got back to the Damascus headquarters about these activities, the leadership was furious. “What are you doing? Don’t stop the slaughters, of course. Just stop the videos, for Allah’s sake!”
The situation has become so dire for the Alawites, as well as some Druze and Christians, along the Mediterranean that the people have reached out to the one people they know whose word they can trust. Israel. Unbelievably, these people who just a few months ago wanted nothing more than to turn Israel into a giant parking lot are now pleading for help. I even have Alawites reaching out to me through Instagram asking me to pray for them and to use any influence I have to get Israel to help them.
I am doing what I can to help get the plight of the Alawites out to the world. Western media is whitewashing the situation. Social media is censoring the truth. If you’re wondering why I am including so many graphic scenes from the slaughter of our former enemies, it’s because people need to know. My job is not to judge anyone as to how they used to feel about me and my people. That’s God’s responsibility. I just want the world to know about this horrible slaughter. Thankfully, word is getting out and some governments are starting to take notice. The United Nations has said that they are going to talk about it, which I’m sure is a huge relief to everyone. With any luck, they may even form a committee.
Dealing with the Devil
The Kurds are a minority in Syria, as well as in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. They don’t like any of their host countries, and their host countries absolutely despise them. When Assad’s regime first fell, there was a momentary thought that maybe Syria could be portioned in some way that would allow the Kurds some land of their own. Al-Sharaa and his HTS surprised everyone with how quickly and firmly they took control of the center and northern parts of the country. The south is still under de facto Israeli control. This left the Kurds with a decision. Do we fight for a chunk of this land or do we try to get along with the new boss? After seeing the slaughter of the Alawites, it’s no surprise that the Kurds approached al-Sharaa saying, “Hey, buddy, can we talk?” Now the Kurds have signed an agreement in which the Kurds promise to play nice and Syria will use their influence to try to keep Turkey off the Kurds’ back. This is a big blow to the U.S. who always saw the Kurdish rebels as allies.
By the way, ditto for the Druze. They watched the videos of HTS wiping out whole families and now they’re making deals with their new Syrian best friends, too. This was a disappointment to Israel, which was hoping to come alongside the Druze population to protect them in the south of Syria.
Ceasefire Screws Tighten on Hamas
With Phase 1 of the ceasefire completed, the pressure is on for Hamas to agree to a reasonable Phase 2. Israel and the United States believe that reasonable means that Hamas ceases to exist. Hamas believes that reasonable means a ten-year ceasefire during which they get to keep all of their weapons. Needless to say, the talks are at an impasse.
Israel’s leaders are tired of providing humanitarian aid for their enemies. When has this ever been required in the history of warfare? So, Israel has stopped the inflow of humanitarian trucks to Gaza. All the cargo in the trucks would just be seized by Hamas, then sold at exorbitant prices to the people. Besides, the “famine” of Gaza is just another media hoax. One only needs to see the extensive feasts that close each day of Ramadan to know that food is still plentiful in Gaza. For Israel, though, halting the trucks is not enough. Hamas must be pushed to return our hostages. So, Israel cut its flow of fresh water to Gaza, an amount that accounts for 19% of the area’s needs. When that did nothing, they cut water to the desalination plants, which will greatly affect the rest of the fresh water supply. Hopefully, that will finally force Hamas to return our innocent victims to us.
Houthis Close Red Sea to Israeli Shipping
The Houthis have used the cutting of humanitarian aid to Gaza as a pretext for shutting down the Red Sea to all Israeli shipping. If any Israel-owned or flagged ships enter the water, they will be destroyed. That’s big talk for a haggard group of rebels. It is no wonder that newly-installed Chief of Staff of the IDF, Eyal Zamir, recently predicted, “2025 will be a year of war.”
Turkey Closes NATO Door on Israel
Despite a general enthusiastic acceptance among member nations for Israel to take part in upcoming NATO preparedness exercises, Turkey has used its veto power to shut them out. Said President Erdogan, “Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkiye.” Maybe he can tell his friends at Hamas to put down their arms and surrender. That’ll end the conflict in the blink of an eye.
Russia and Ukraine War
After all the foot-stomping and angry words, Ukraine has agreed to a United States led 30-day ceasefire with Russia during talks in Saudi Arabia. The only downside is that Russia wasn’t at the talks. According to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “The ball is now in Russia’s court.”
