Resources on the Syrian Civil War

(​highlighted​ articles are the best starting point)

This document exists as a guide for those who would like to learn more about the situation in
Syria. This document will be updated as new developments arrive.

Overview / context of the initial protests

● The War on Syria

● An Urgently Necessary Briefing on Syria
● ‘Gulf countries played a role in the Syrian uprising’
● Syria's Uprising in Context
● Why Syria Matters: Interview with Aijaz Ahmad
● U.S. Hands Off Syria: Urgent call on eve of wider war
● Truth and Falsehood in Syria
● The Dirty War on Syria: No Popular Uprising
● The Revolutionary Distemper in Syria That Wasn’t
● Which Side Are You On? The Western Left's Obsession with Empire

The propaganda campaign against the Syrian government

● The ongoing propaganda war against Syria

● Syrian Observatory for Human Rights run by immigrant from his UK home
● Deconstructing the NATO Narrative on Syria
● Controlling the Narrative on Syria
● 12 myths and facts about Syria
● A Useful Prep Sheet on Syria for Media Propagandists
● The Concept of WMD, and its Use against Syria, in the Propaganda Systems of Western
States
● About Bias and Propaganda on Syria
● #AleppoIsBurning: Building support for an imperialist agenda
● This is why everything you’ve read about the wars in Syria and Iraq could be wrong
● Syria: Manipulation for war
● Molly Crabapple, Vice & Buzzfeed Exposed a Syrian War Journalist to Terrorist
Reprisals in an Attempt to Discredit The United Nations
● ‘War crimes’ in Syria but business as usual in Iraq and Yemen?
● Syria: Doctors in Aleppo refute Western media lies
● Open Letter to “Human Rights Defenders” on Aleppo
● Supporters Of Syrian Rebels Using Pro-Israel Tactics To Silence Journalist
● Surprise Surprise: MSM Ignores What UN Report on Syrian Gas Attack Actually Said
● Kafranbel Media Center: A Propaganda Banner Assembly Line That Targets The Naive
 ● New photos emerge of Omran Daqneesh, the boy who became a symbol of Aleppo's
suffering
● Initially getting the Syria war wrong, learning from past mistakes, and correcting lies

ISIS as a creation of the U.S./NATO/GCC

● 2012 Defense Intelligence Agency document: West will facilitate rise of Islamic State “in
order to isolate the Syrian regime”
● Four in Five Syrians Say Islamic State Is a US Creature, Poll Says
● How the US Helped ISIS
● Now the truth emerges: how the US fuelled the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq
● U.S. accidentally delivered weapons to the Islamic State by airdrop, militants say
● New Evidence Reveals Turkish Government Is Directly Funding ISIS
● US allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar are funding Isis
● Russia: US covering up Daesh crimes in Iraq’s Mosul
● FBI translator married ISIS foreign fighter she was investigating
● ISIS Proliferates in Syria, Iraq Despite U.S. Bombings – Civilians Pay the Price

“Moderate Rebels”: al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, etc.

● Syria: 'Moderate Rebel' Massacres and Everyday Propaganda

● ‘If we stop training, arming jihadists, the war will end’
● The Myth of Syria's Moderate Rebels
● France delivered weapons to Syria rebels
● Israeli Military Admits to Supporting Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria
● Here’s why there are no “moderate rebels” in Aleppo or anywhere else in Syria
● The real criminals behind massacre in al-Zara, Syria: United States, Qatar,Turkey
● Israel’s Unlikely Alliance
● CIA-armed militias are shooting at Pentagon-armed ones in Syria
● Syrian Man Recounts 33 Days Of Torture At Hands Of CIA-Backed FSA
● Al Jazeera, CNN & BBC Cover Up Genocidal Crimes of US – Backed Syrian Rebels
● Israel’s Quiet Campaign to Gain a Foothold in Southern Syria
● CIA Ends Covert Funding of Syrian "Moderate" Rebels, but Pentagon to Continue
Arming and Training
● Trump to end lavish CIA support for ‘moderate’ anti-Assad forces in Syria – reports
● Ignored By Western Media, Syrians Describe the Nightmare the Armed Opposition
Brought Them

Russian Involvement

● Russia enters Syria war, exposing hypocrisy and contradictions of U.S. policy
● Russia’s “Bombing” of Syrian Hospitals: The Incredible Expanding Lie
● Russia, China block bid by Western powers to impose UN sanctions on Syria
 ● US airstrikes killed more Iraqi, Syrian civilians than Russia in 3 months: Airwars

US/NATO/GCC plans for regime change

● If NATO wanted peace in Syria, it wouldn’t call for a no-fly zone

● Syria: U.S. Special Ops Forces to Fight Against ISIS or Damascus?
● Syria: U.S. talk of chemical weapons a pretext for war
● The Red Line and the Rat Line: Obama, Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels
● Why U.S. wants regime change in Syria
● The Refugee Crisis is a Crisis of Imperialism
● U.S. and EU sanctions are punishing ordinary Syrians
● US File on Overthrowing Assad
● Military to Military: US intelligence sharing in the Syrian war
● The Struggle For Hegemony in the Muslim World
● Syria’s Bashar al-Assad on the West’s Quest for a Puppet State in Syria and Its Phony
War on Violent Political Islam
● A mistaken case for Syria regime change
● Washington’s solution to conflict in Syria: Threaten world with bigger war
● Trump, Clinton and Syria
● CIA Activities in Syria
● Clinton Email: We Must Destroy Syria For Israel
● Congressional Hawks Rush to Intensify War in Syria
● The Destabilization of Syria and the Broader Middle East War
● Syria: US Moves to Arm Rebels with Anti-Aircraft Weapons
● Syrian Army warns Israel it will respond after military airport bombed near Damascus
● Syria’s Water Cut Off By Turkey Following McCain, Erdogan Meeting
● 1983 CIA Document Reveals Plan To Destroy Syria, Foreshadows Current Crisis
● Newly Declassified CIA Report Exposes Over 25 Years Of U.S. Plans To Destabilize
Syria
● Turkish forces help ISIS in east Aleppo by attacking Syrian Army troops
● The Israeli Plan To Capitalize On Syria’s Civil War
● Daesh shelling, US airstrikes raise Syria dam breach fears
● Israel Reconfirms Commitment To Treating Wounded Syrian Al-Nusra Fighters
● US airstrike on Daesh poison gas depot leaves many civilians dead: Report
● U.S. steps up aggression with strikes on Syrian government forces

US/NATO use of depleted uranium / white phosphorus

● Official: U.S. military used depleted uranium for first time since 2003 Iraq invasion
● The Cancer of War: U.S. Admits to Using Radioactive Munitions in Syria
● Why Did the US Use Depleted Uranium Weapons in Syria?
● US-led coalition’s white phosphorus use in Mosul ‘not within int’l legal framework’ –
rights groups
US/NATO airstrike campaigns

● 17 Syrian children killed by US airstrike on village near Raqqa

● 41 Killed in US Attack on Syrian Mosque
● Breaking: US-coalition airstrike hits school building housing civilians in Syria’s Raqqa
● THE PENTAGON SAYS ONE CIVILIAN DIED IN DRONE STRIKE ON SYRIAN
MOSQUE. WITNESSES SAY IT KILLED DOZENS.
● US-led strikes kill 60 civilians in Syria’s Dayr al-Zawr

White Helmets as a Western propaganda outlet

● Inside the Shadowy PR Firm That’s Lobbying for Regime Change in Syria
● How the White Helmets Became International Heroes While Pushing U.S. Military
Intervention and Regime Change in Syria
● British Govt-Funded Outlet Offered Journalist $17,000 a Month to Produce Propaganda
for Syrian Rebels
● How a Syrian White Helmets Leader Played Western Media
● ‘White Helmets’ — pawns for U.S. militarism
● Syria’s “White Helmets” Go to Hollywood
● Film about Syrian White Helmets wins Oscar amid allegations of terrorist ties
● Fact-sheet on the White Helmets
● White Helmets member caught on camera disposing of Syrian soldiers’ mutilated bodies
(GRAPHIC VIDEO)

Al-Jazeera is anti-Syrian gov’t Qatari state media

● Al Jazeera’s Fall From Grace – How A News Outlet Became A Tool Of The State
● WikiLeaks cables claim al-Jazeera changed coverage to suit Qatari foreign policy
● Al-Jazeera Board Member: Russia 'Deserved It' After Assassination of Ambassador
● Inside Al Jazeera: Is the pan-Arab channel a propaganda outfit or an essential voice?
● Al-Jazeera LOSING Credibility Everywhere – Accused of “Agenda Setting and Bias
Reporting.” Many are looking elsewhere for the TRUTH
● WikiLeaks: Google & Al-Jazeera Encouraged Civil War In Syria
● Al-Jazeera interviews official spokesperson of Ahrar al-Sham

Amnesty International “report” on “mass hangings”

● Amnesty International’s Kangaroo Report on Syria

● War, lies and NGOs: Amnesty International’s Report on Syria

Liberation of Aleppo, December 2016

 ● Aleppo fully liberated by Syrian government forces
● Report of East Aleppo evacuation by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs
● Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Aleppo, Syria
(notes that the UN has no independent verification for claims about the SAA)
● Street celebrations in Aleppo on news of Syrian Army retaking east of city
● Russian Foreign Minister hopes militants in eastern Aleppo end resistance in 2-3 days
● Syrians Celebrate Near Total Liberation Of Aleppo
● #Aleppo now victory
● Aleppo civilians find food stockpile at abandoned rebel depot
● There is more than one truth to tell in the terrible story of Aleppo
● Syria: Over 110,000 Civilians Evacuated from Aleppo City
● Aleppo: UN's Commission of Inquiry for Syria says rebels using civilians as shields
● US withdraws Aleppo proposals, says no consultations yet – Lavrov
● There's more propaganda than news coming out of Aleppo this week
● Aleppo battle: Rebels burn Syria evacuation buses
● Aleppo Twitter Girl Bana Is the 'Ultimate Propaganda Stunt' - Syrian Activist
● 14 US Coalition officers captured in Aleppo, including a Turk
● Egyptian police arrest five people for children to stage fake 'Aleppo' footage
● 'Two Moms' Behind #StandWithAleppo Revealed to Be Professional Propagandists
● Aleppo: the frenzied media response and the stakes for Syria
● Mass graves discovered in liberated areas of Aleppo, once held by US backed
“moderate rebels”
● Russia confirms that militants in eastern Aleppo withheld medication from civilians
● Half a million Syrians return home as Syrian gov’t, allies liberate more areas

U.S. troops on the ground, March 2017 - present

● US confirms deployment of hundreds of Marines to Syria to fight ISIS

● US deploys 2,500 paratroopers to Kuwait, ready for missions in Syria & Iraq – report
● Assad: No one invited US to Manbij, all foreign troops in Syria without permission are
‘invaders’
● Trump Invades Syria
● Boots On The Ground Increase Risks Of Tangling US In Syria’s War
● Hundreds Of US Boots On The Ground In Syria
● US intervention in Syria is ‘violation of international law, act of war’
● President al-Assad to Chinese Phoenix TV: any foreign troops coming to Syria without
permission are invaders-video
● U.S. Army Announces Troops Will Stay In Syria After ISIS Defeat
● Trump plunges deeper into Syrian war
● U.S. escalates aggression in Syria
● US Forces Block Syrian Army Advance in Preparation For Syria Partition
● Pentagon seeks to ‘surprise’ ISIS with unannounced troops deployments in Iraq & Syria
 ● U.S.-Led Coalition Already Using Idlib Chemical Attack As Pretext For War In Syria
● Mainstream media turns blind eye to US carnage in Mosul liberation

Syrian gov’t alleged ‘chemical attacks’, April 2017

● Trump's red line

● Assad denies use of chemical weapons
● Russia Reports Discovery of Rebel-Held Chemical Weapons at Site of Idlib Gas Attack
● Syria Chemical Weapons Red Flags and False Flags
● Another Dangerous Rush to Judgment in Syria
● US using Syria 'false flag' to advance imperialist agenda: Scholar
● No chemical weapons at Syrian airbase attacked by US
● When America’s “Progressives” Pay Lip Service to Imperialism. The Anti-War Movement
is Dead
● The chemical weapon lie
● Video Evidence of False Claims Made in the White House Intelligence Report of April 11,
2017
● U.S. Targets 271 Syrians With Sanctions For Alleged Role In Chemical Weapons
Program
● Is The OPCW Playing Politics In The Idlib Gas Attack Investigation?

Trump missile strike, April 2017

● Cruise Missile Attacks: A New Step in Washington’s Long Class War on Syria
● Trump Taking U.S. to War In Syria To Avert Economic Disaster
● ISIL launches offensive near military base targeted by US missiles
● Is Trump Rescuing Al-Qaeda's 'Heartland' in Syria?
● Syrian Army confirms targeting US aircraft in Al-Qamishli
● Trump Airstrikes Giving Syria Terror Groups A New Advantage
● Stop U.S. war against Syria!
● As U.S. rockets hit Syria, corporate media start loving warmaker Trump
● Out of 46 Major Editorials on Trump’s Syria Strikes, Only One Opposed
● Black Lives Matter activists condemn US missile strikes in Syria

U.S. use of SDF / YPG for imperial interests

● Trump will go ahead with Kurds in Raqqa, US officials say

● Kurds eye one-third of Syria with US support: Report
● Trump to Tell Turkey: We’re Going to Take Raqqa With the Kurds
● Syrian Kurds are now armed with sensitive US weaponry, and the Pentagon denies
supplying it
● U.S. Coalition Cleansing Raqqa Of Arabs To Expand Kurdish “Autonomous Region”
● 'Staggering' loss of civilian life from US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, says UN
 ● The Myth of the Kurdish YPG’s Moral Excellence
● Burning Raqqa: The US War Against Civilians in Syria
● Safe Zones As Soft Military Occupation: Trump’s Plan For Syria, Iraq Is Taking Shape
● After “Liberation,” U.S. To Give Control Of Raqqa To Rebels, Not Syrian Government
● SDF: US protection will prevent renewed Turkish attacks on our positions in northern
Syria
● Empire in Crisis? CIA to stop supporting ‘Syrian rebels’
● PYD leader: US strikes should target all who use chemical weapons in Syria
● The US Is Far More Deeply Involved In Syria Than You Know

Syrian support for Assad

● Syria: As the bombs fall, the people of Damascus rally round Bashar al-Assad
● Syrians in Lebanon battle crowds to vote for Bashar al-Assad
● Why are US-backed politicians in Lebanon angry when Syrians want to vote freely?
● Syrian Elections Confirm West’s Worst Fears
● Most Syrians back President Assad, but you'd never know from western media
● Syrian People Elect President By Wide Margin Amid Insurgent Attacks
● Why Syrians Support Bashar al Assad
● Why Assad Refuses to Step Down
● Syria Dispatch: Most Syrians Support Assad, Reject Phony Foreign “Revolution”
● What do the Syrian people want?
● Opposition authorities vow ‘penalty’ for pro-Assad chants at demonstration in rebel-held
Idlib province

Communist views on the conflict

● Interview with Syrian Communist on conflict in Syria

● War-Monger Obama! Your Dirty Hands Off Syria!​, CPI-(Maoist)
● THE LIBERATION OF ALEPPO IS A DEFEAT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
COUNTER-REVOLUTION
● Syrian CP (Unified), An Appeal To the Communist, Workers and Leftist Parties in the
World
● Communist Youth of Syria: 'We will never give up!'
● Syrian Communist Appeal
● Regarding Syria by the Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash)
● Syria and DPRK Stand Together
● Leila Khaled on Syria
● LEILA KHALED ON ISIS AND ISLAMISM, SYRIA AND THE PALESTINIANS
● Syria, six years of manufactured war