Gabbard’s Syria Alert to Senate Validated as Al Qaeda-Connected Regime Targets Minority Christians and Alawites – One America News Network
OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:37 AM – Sunday, March 9, 2025
Tulsi Gabbard has expressed concern that al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups would begin targeting civilians in Syria, including the Christian population, as a result of the Biden administration’s backing of the Assad regime’s downfall.
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Gabbard, who is now serving as the Director of National Intelligence, alerted the Senate during her confirmation hearing about the risks posed by Bashar al-Assad’s removal, which allowed a new regime, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) with links to al-Qaeda, to rise.
“I have no affection for Assad or any dictator. My disdain is aimed at al-Qaeda. I oppose our leaders’ alignments with Islamist extremists, labeling them ‘rebels’ as Jake Sullivan referred to Hillary Clinton, ‘al-Qaeda is on our side in Syria.’ Now, Syria is under the control of the al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, led by an Islamist Jihadist who was celebrating on 9/11 and has been responsible for the deaths of many American soldiers,” she remarked.
Recently, approximately 1,000 people have been killed, a considerable number of whom were Christians and members of the Alawite minority.
This recent wave of violence represents the most lethal period of massacres since al-Assad’s ousting.
During the events surrounding Assad’s fall in December, former President Joe Biden appeared to endorse the action as a “fundamental act of justice.”
“Our strategy has altered the power dynamics in the Middle East,” Biden asserted at that time, claiming that Assad’s downfall was facilitated by the U.S. diminishing Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, rendering them unable to support the Assad regime.
While acknowledging the potential threats posed by the new regime, Biden stated: “It’s important to recognize that some of the rebel factions responsible for Assad’s ousting have a traumatic history of terrorism and human rights violations.”
Biden seemed to rationalize the transition by claiming these groups were “voicing the right sentiments.”
The significant Christian community in the area, which was protected under Assad, is now facing persecution, as Islamist militias “are invading homes, murdering residents, and stealing everything. They are covering their faces,” according to Fox News.
Fox News reported that a young Christian family, along with their infant child, was murdered on Friday. Additionally, Tony and Fadi Petrus, a Christian father and son, were also killed by Islamists.
“I feel there is no safety. There is no homeland. There is nowhere to escape to, and no one to defend us. I feel fear and horrifying feelings,” recounted a witness to Fox News.
The brutal onslaught commenced after a confrontation on Thursday between Syrian government forces and Assad loyalists in Jableh, a region largely populated by Alawites.
HTS and associated groups have also started assaulting the Alawite minority, which constitutes about 10% of Syria’s inhabitants.
An Alawite woman from the Al-Ghab plain region reported that the ruling HTS proclaimed, “Alawites are pigs, and they must be executed, including small children before the elders.”
The attacks seem to stem from a desire for revenge against Assad’s administration, given his Alawite background.
An anonymous source confided to Fox News, “The Islamists want to eliminate all of us. They don’t want us in Syria. We must escape Syria. They seek vengeance for the former regime. I seek protection to live with dignity, as we can be slaughtered at any moment.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz criticized the new Syrian president Abu Mohammed al-Julani in a post on X, stating “al-Julani has traded his robe for a suit and attempted to portray a moderate image… Now he has removed the mask and revealed his true identity: a jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda ilk committing atrocious acts against civilians.”
Katz’s remarks were accompanied by a disturbing video showing numerous lifeless bodies following the massacre.
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