Juno News - December 19, 2024


The truth about Syria


Episode Stats

Length

21 minutes

Words per Minute

150.56717

Word Count

3,252

Sentence Count

172

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

26


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator who led that country with an iron fist for over 20 years,
00:00:09.140 has been unseated in a very fast and very abrupt coup just earlier this month.
00:00:15.020 To the leaders in the West, to Justin Trudeau, to Bob Ray, Canada's ambassador to the UN,
00:00:20.980 this was all cause for celebration.
00:00:23.500 This was a victory for democracy and for the Syrian people to finally rid themselves of Assad.
00:00:29.660 But who is now in charge?
00:00:31.600 Who is now leading this country?
00:00:33.320 Because from what we can see on social media, it appears to be a group of radical Islamists
00:00:38.660 who were once former Al-Qaeda and ISIS fighters.
00:00:42.720 So is this all really a victory for Syria and for the Middle East?
00:00:46.600 Or could it be the start of something much worse?
00:00:50.680 Joining us now on The Faulkner Show is Jassem al-Jarad, an investigative journalist
00:00:56.040 and a former parliamentary candidate in Kuwait who's joining us from Ottawa.
00:01:01.180 JJ, thank you so much for joining us.
00:01:03.200 Let me just ask you this.
00:01:04.820 Who is now in charge of Syria?
00:01:06.600 Thank you for having me, Harrison.
00:01:07.740 Well, it's a big complicated, it's a complicated situation there in Syria.
00:01:14.940 And this complexity is taking everyone into a surprise that they were like rebels and the
00:01:22.620 rebels took the power and the power is for the people's right.
00:01:26.500 And that's not correct.
00:01:27.400 So, Muhammad al-Jolani, nicknamed Muhammad al-Jolani, his official name is Ahmad al-Shara.
00:01:34.940 And Ahmad al-Shara now is, he used to be like, he's an ex-Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
00:01:41.020 So, he came to the power with the promise to the IRGC.
00:01:46.300 That's the information I got my hands on.
00:01:48.820 That the brotherhood, which is the puppets of the IRGC, the radical Islamists in the region,
00:01:56.840 they have dealt with a lot of ecosystem changes in the Middle East, where one brotherhood power
00:02:04.200 falls and then another one comes to the power.
00:02:06.740 So, they use Syria now.
00:02:08.600 And we will talk about some technical situation between them and Saudi Arabia as well, because
00:02:14.300 they're trying to establish the Islamic State, and they cannot have two Islamic States in
00:02:19.240 the Middle East while the Saudi Arabia is trying to reform the Islamic diplomacy and have peace
00:02:27.620 with Israel.
00:02:28.200 So, they are radical Islamists with the help of the brotherhood, and they are now in the
00:02:34.600 interim ministry.
00:02:37.980 So, they have an interim prime minister who had two flags next to him.
00:02:42.240 One is the Sharia law flag, and the other one is the rebel flag.
00:02:46.640 So, let me ask you about that, because we've seen this white flag.
00:02:50.640 It's not the new flag of Syria that's got green on it, right?
00:02:54.240 It's a white flag with Islamic text.
00:02:56.820 What is that flag, and what does it represent exactly?
00:02:59.940 This flag represents the Sharia law project.
00:03:03.100 It says, no God but Allah, and no Prophet but Muhammad.
00:03:06.900 So, this statement is discriminatory to a lot of people in Syria.
00:03:14.500 Well, while they use this flag to legitimize their movements in Syria, we had to, you know,
00:03:23.560 raise some awareness messages to the public.
00:03:27.240 And we said that this is the Sharia law, and Assad and those people who came to the power,
00:03:33.640 they were in a very good harmony, by the way.
00:03:36.420 He allowed them to take all the cities one by one, and then they allowed them to leave
00:03:41.660 with $2 billion to Russia.
00:03:45.920 So, that was it.
00:03:47.600 And there's a new era now with the Sharia law application is in progress.
00:03:53.940 So, who was behind this sudden coup?
00:03:57.220 Because we know for many, many years, the Americans have wanted to have regime change
00:04:03.280 in Syria.
00:04:03.660 They wanted to get rid of Bashar al-Assad.
00:04:05.380 In fact, I believe Obama said that explicitly.
00:04:08.020 So, who was behind this sudden coup?
00:04:09.640 Was it the United States?
00:04:10.500 Was it Turkey, for example?
00:04:12.460 Well, Turkey, that's correct.
00:04:15.420 And the United States, I don't think the United States have a lot of influence right now
00:04:20.600 or access to this region because the ecosystem change is overriding any diplomacy in this region.
00:04:28.360 So, they're trying to react to whatever is happening because if they are in control,
00:04:33.960 they wouldn't send their weaponry units in Syria right now.
00:04:38.440 This is the first time we see this after a very long time.
00:04:41.420 So, Erdogan wants to take all the pressure from initiating a Kurdistan state from his land
00:04:52.520 within his borders and send it further to Syria to establish that Kurdistan state, which
00:05:00.520 we would love to see a Kurdistan state in the region.
00:05:04.860 They deserve to rule themselves in a democracy.
00:05:10.640 This is their plan and their promise.
00:05:13.840 So, Erdogan is behind it.
00:05:16.180 And Erdogan offered a lot of intelligence to those people on how to present themselves
00:05:21.800 in the media with the help of the IRGC, the Islamofascist regime that is ruling Iran right
00:05:29.760 now.
00:05:29.980 So, they both have a lot of interest in Syria.
00:05:33.840 And Syria has been a logistic help to Iran, to the radical Islamist who is ruling Iran,
00:05:43.380 to pass all these weaponry units to Hezbollah.
00:05:47.660 And Israel is another party that is watching from distance.
00:05:52.220 And then they said, while Erdogan had a huge buffer zone in Syria, we have obligations towards
00:06:02.900 our nation to defend them.
00:06:04.680 So, they also had a few kilometers buffer zone.
00:06:09.060 And then the complication is that, will Israel accept the change?
00:06:17.520 Will the USA accept the change?
00:06:20.120 And the president-elect, is he happy about what is going on right now?
00:06:24.400 The complication is continuing.
00:06:27.220 And Erdogan is the one behind those radical Islamists because he used them in the past
00:06:33.620 to take Bashar al-Assad down, and he was against Putin and the IRGC.
00:06:40.040 So, let's get into that.
00:06:41.320 So, what are the long-term implications of this?
00:06:44.120 What do you expect to see out of Syria now that the country is led by radical Islamists?
00:06:51.220 What does this mean for Israel?
00:06:52.340 What does this mean for the region of the United States?
00:06:54.740 Well, Israel, Mr. Netanyahu has made a statement, and he said, we support the will of the Syrians,
00:07:07.900 but we don't want to see another threat to our nation.
00:07:12.660 And if you have any close ties with the IRGC, I just wanted to say it loud and clear
00:07:20.520 that we are not going to allow anyone to establish the radical Islamist regime there in Syria
00:07:25.900 to be another arm or another militia proxy arm for the IRGC.
00:07:33.260 I can see three states in Syria.
00:07:36.640 That's my analysis.
00:07:37.740 And I can see a Durj state, I can see Kurdistan state, and I can see the Islamic state.
00:07:43.380 But the Islamic state has to have some sort of, you know, the harmony between civil law
00:07:50.760 slash Islamic, because we know the brotherhood.
00:07:53.260 They changed their colors within a year.
00:07:55.920 And this is what happened in Egypt.
00:07:57.400 I'm not bringing anything from my imagination.
00:08:00.040 So, three states.
00:08:02.320 And I see that the United States will help the Kurds to establish their state in Syria.
00:08:10.720 And the Druze, I think, will have their own land as well.
00:08:14.100 This is what I think.
00:08:15.820 Because Bashar al-Assad himself, he couldn't have, like, the nation grip for his entire land.
00:08:22.840 Syria is such a huge geographical area where the geopolitics in Syria is complicated.
00:08:29.900 So, Israel will always watch from distance, and they will not allow Iran to create another
00:08:36.960 proxy arm in Syria.
00:08:40.480 Would the new leaders of Syria really allow a Kurdistan state in the northeast of the country
00:08:47.940 if that's where all the oil is in Syria?
00:08:50.800 Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not where all the oil is?
00:08:54.420 That's why the United States is in the northeast of the country?
00:08:56.900 Would the new leadership in Syria really allow that?
00:09:01.500 Well, I don't think he has any say on allowing, dividing the country.
00:09:07.580 He's not the president yet.
00:09:11.340 You're talking about radical Islamists who joined the ecosystem, and they are in control
00:09:16.620 of the ecosystem.
00:09:17.600 So, they brought someone else in the front line.
00:09:19.500 So, the front line doesn't mean that they are issuing any legitimacy in front of the global
00:09:25.840 countries.
00:09:26.640 Now, he has called everyone, he invited everyone to have, like, a parade, the celebratory parade,
00:09:35.540 last Friday, which is yesterday.
00:09:38.340 And the only message you hear is that put your hijab on and divide men and women, don't be
00:09:46.040 next to each other.
00:09:46.840 And the Kurdistan establishment is going back, like, hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
00:09:54.940 So, when you look at the map, they went to the exact place where they were having that land
00:10:04.080 established and ruled by their people.
00:10:07.380 So, yes, they have natural resources out there.
00:10:11.360 I don't think it's a strategic decision to go to the natural resources.
00:10:14.500 Still, the negotiation is ongoing under the table between the Islamo-fascist rebel and
00:10:24.300 the international panel.
00:10:26.420 And I think, I think, Harrison, in the next, because he had a speech just a while ago, talking
00:10:35.020 about his relationship with Iran and his relationship with Israel and his relationship with Russia.
00:10:40.300 And he, he, he thrown like, really, very weak basis, talking about the relationship with
00:10:48.600 Russia, that is like, we have to be careful, and we are not against the Iranian people, but
00:10:53.620 against the power, and the power brought him to, to, to rule Syria.
00:10:59.040 It's, it's very complicated, but I think Kurdistan has to be established.
00:11:03.020 And, uh, Erdogan wants that to, to get out of his, uh, his shoulders, uh, uh, in front
00:11:09.900 of his nation.
00:11:11.880 Now, let's, I want to go back to, uh, this guy, Al Jolani, right?
00:11:15.920 And he, he, he leads the group called HTS.
00:11:19.580 This is a terrorist group, right?
00:11:21.360 Listed terrorist group in the UK.
00:11:22.800 I imagine it's the same in the United States.
00:11:25.360 And I read a report that this guy was former Al Qaeda and former ISIS.
00:11:29.900 Is ISIS coming back in Syria with this Al Jolani guy?
00:11:34.040 He is an, he is an ex-ISIS.
00:11:36.620 Uh, he've done a lot of, uh, crimes in Iraq.
00:11:39.680 He've done a lot of crimes in Syria.
00:11:41.720 Uh, he opened the slavery, uh, the slavery, uh, market.
00:11:45.800 Uh, he have sold the, IZDs women.
00:11:48.720 Uh, he've killed a lot of people just because they have a different faith in Syria.
00:11:53.680 And we know that, uh, the ethnicity in Syria is like such a complicated, uh, matter.
00:11:59.220 Uh, another thing is that the ISIS guy has, uh, rebranded himself.
00:12:05.500 And he said that, you know what?
00:12:07.500 Uh, I have a different skin now.
00:12:09.000 I can wear whatever you're wearing.
00:12:10.720 I'm not going to wear the black, the black flag today.
00:12:13.480 And, uh, you know what?
00:12:14.780 I'm going to put the brotherhood and the power.
00:12:17.480 And they're highly educated, but they will have the Sharia law flag behind them.
00:12:22.920 And whoever is trying to take a selfie with this al-Jolani, and his name is Ahmed al-Sharah.
00:12:29.060 Uh, uh, this Ahmed al-Jolani, uh, Ahmed al-Sharah, uh, has always, you know, pointing at the women who are trying to take selfies with him.
00:12:38.360 Imagine.
00:12:39.060 He's asking them to cover their head before they take a selfie with him.
00:12:42.820 So Ahmed al-Jolani, which is Ahmed al-Sharah, he's trying to, uh, uh, you know, uh, take this power slowly to overrule the people.
00:12:54.820 The first program that was aired on the, on the, on the Syrian mainstream channel, which was established ever since 1960.
00:13:03.560 And we were watching it when I was back in Kuwait before I become a political refugee.
00:13:08.720 Uh, he has already, uh, aired some songs talking about bombing the enemy, which is Israel.
00:13:17.740 And, uh, the kids where they want to be dressed by their mothers to go and have a meritor, uh, future to be killed and to kill others.
00:13:28.040 And that is their, their only, uh, uh, happiness that they're going to have in Syria.
00:13:33.600 So, uh, I don't think he's, he's, um, he's, uh, um, very serious about what is going on or does he know what is, what is the future lies for him?
00:13:43.480 Uh, I think, I think it's going to be like a very interesting three months ahead.
00:13:48.180 And we, uh, it's, it's changing day by day, Harrison.
00:13:51.520 It's very crazy.
00:13:52.200 So if, if the guy who is behind this coup is a former ISIS fighter and he leads a terrorist organization, why then do we have Bob Ray, the UN ambassador for Canada, as well as Justin Trudeau and other politicians celebrating this coup in Syria?
00:14:12.420 Um, why is that happening?
00:14:14.860 Because just from my view, having a former Al Qaeda and ISIS fighter leading Syria is not something to celebrate.
00:14:23.840 Well, um, let me, let me also express my, my shocks about the, the Canadian, uh, uh, the Canadian situation here.
00:14:31.940 Um, I've been here for like only one year and a half and I'm an ex, uh, Algonquin alumni, but I just wanted to say that Canada is not the same.
00:14:39.120 Uh, Canada is supporting Hamas and the antisemitic, uh, statements.
00:14:44.300 And they said, this is, this is under the, the, the expression of, uh, freedom.
00:14:48.880 And, um, and that started to arise without any, any, you know, noticeable controls.
00:14:56.520 Uh, I've seen also Syrians here in Canada, uh, uh, mentioning that, uh, don't ever listen to the West.
00:15:05.340 Don't be a puppet to the West and they are residing in the West and they don't care about the West.
00:15:11.840 And every time we share a message on the social media, starting to say that guys, we, we cannot be the only ones who are trying to embrace the culture of Canada and, and, and look after the Canadian interests, not our interests.
00:15:27.220 We are not, we don't need to use this platform as a, as a hate speech, um, um, but unfortunately that Justin Trudeau's administration is, is not, is not taking, uh, uh, corrective measures, uh, towards this.
00:15:41.960 And, uh, and, uh, I think there's something has to do with, with their, with their, with their ballots.
00:15:46.960 Um, uh, are they, are they like, uh, supporting Justin Trudeau?
00:15:51.120 Doesn't he know that once they get to the power, uh, once they get that freedom, they will hijack the culture, they will hijack the power, they will hijack the streets.
00:16:02.380 And people wouldn't even notice that they are entering, uh, Canada after seeing all those radical Islamists now putting their carpets on the floor and started praying in, in, in, in public.
00:16:14.480 This is another invasion and we call this a soft power.
00:16:20.320 So that, so you, you believe that because of the, because of the extreme migration of Muslims into Canada,
00:16:28.500 that's the reason why our top diplomat, essentially one of our top diplomats, the UN ambassador is celebrating this coup in Syria, saying that this is a victory for democracy.
00:16:40.440 I believe those were pretty much his words that this is a victory for democracy.
00:16:44.700 Let me ask you this.
00:16:45.780 Another question we're seeing.
00:16:47.240 Another thing we're seeing is that many of our allies are blocking Syrian refugees, any more Syrian refugees from coming into their countries.
00:16:55.860 Canada has not done that.
00:16:57.180 Are, is it, should we be expecting another refugee crisis if these radical Islamists are taking over Syria?
00:17:06.040 Well, I hope not because, because Canada is paying the price.
00:17:09.480 Uh, well, um, I think, I think something is going to happen very soon if they don't really, um, uh, get along with the, with the, with the international panels, especially the democracies in the Middle East, which is Israel is the only democracy and the only secular country in the Middle East.
00:17:26.400 Alongside Emirates, they have some sort of a system where they allow the differences in ethnicity and religious beliefs to, to exist in the Emirates.
00:17:36.180 So, uh, my only focus is that we want to keep Israel's democracy and secularism in the region, and we want them to be safe.
00:17:44.980 Uh, this is the only, the only, the only, uh, example in the Middle East that can at least give us some hope that others will follow along.
00:17:54.140 But, but I just wanted to follow up on the celebration.
00:17:58.440 Do they know those feminists where they say, where they call themselves, we are the feminists and I'm a feminist.
00:18:05.300 Do they know that, uh, if one of the Canadian women just entered Syria, they're going to ask her, they're going to ask her to wear her hijab.
00:18:14.340 And, uh, and, uh, she will be, uh, in danger to, to walk, to walk in the streets without her husband next to her.
00:18:20.460 Do they know that the Sharia law is, uh, is, uh, uh, is calling other religions as, um, uh, as infidels.
00:18:29.800 Do they, do they know that they are anti-democracy in Syria?
00:18:35.540 Uh, I don't know what they're celebrating.
00:18:37.600 Are they celebrating only removing Assad and bringing another radical Islamist, uh, part of the ecosystem that is managed by RGC?
00:18:47.640 This, this makes me like really think, like hundred times to see like the UN representative of Canada, the Canadian representative in the UN
00:18:58.340 is celebrating with the, with the flag.
00:19:01.680 Uh, do, do you know, do you, would you condemn in the future if they, if they started to like harass women or they started to use women as slaves?
00:19:11.460 Will you, will you condemn that?
00:19:13.800 Or are you going to say that, no, this is their freedom, but we're going only to celebrate if they take any power down?
00:19:19.600 Well, welcome to the Middle East ecosystem because it's going to invade your country.
00:19:24.880 And then they're going to ask to apply the Sharia law in your country.
00:19:28.220 And they're going to cite your own, uh, uh, words towards their own, uh, radical Islamist, uh, uh, projects.
00:19:37.580 And they're going to say that you have supported us back in time.
00:19:40.460 We want to apply Sharia law now in this province in Canada.
00:19:44.260 So it's very complicated.
00:19:46.420 And I think that this is, this is very misinformed.
00:19:49.700 I just want to use my words gently.
00:19:51.860 Yes. Well, look, let's just hope that doesn't happen.
00:19:55.780 But JJ, we appreciate you laying this out for us and giving us a better understanding of what's happening here because the media in this country, in our political class, they appear to be celebrating this.
00:20:08.280 They appear to be saying this is a victory for the people of Syria.
00:20:11.320 And from what you've just explained and from what I can see on social media, I just don't know if that's the case.
00:20:16.740 But if anything changes and if the story gets worse or hopefully it gets better, uh, we'll bring you back on to explain what's going on.
00:20:24.660 JJ, thank you once again for joining us on the show.
00:20:27.280 We really appreciate it.
00:20:28.520 And where can Canadians interact with you and find you on social media?
00:20:32.060 Well, they can find me on, on X.
00:20:33.840 And it was a pleasure to speak with you, Harrison.
00:20:35.920 And I, I'm, uh, I really like what, what, what your channel is doing.
00:20:40.820 Uh, uh, well on X, uh, they, they can find me on X and I'm pretty, pretty, uh, active there.
00:20:48.080 Uh, that's, that's, that's the only channel I have today.
00:20:50.960 Perfect.
00:20:51.760 Well, we'll link, we'll link your X account to the description of this video.
00:20:54.660 Once again, JJ, thank you so much for joining us.
00:20:57.360 Thank you, Harrison.
00:21:05.920 Thank you.