William Van Wagenen: Syria, HTS & The Israel/US Role
- Truth Over Comfort
- Nov 3
- 7 min read
In todays interview I spoke to William about his new book on the Syrian "civil war", the US/Israel role, the history of US cooperation with Al-Qaida and the recent HTS takeover.
William Van Wagenen is a writer for the Libertarian Institute. He has written extensively on the Syrian war, with a specific focus on the role of US planners in sparking and exacerbating the conflict. William holds a master’s degree in Theological Studies from Harvard University and survived a kidnapping in the Sinjar region of Iraq in 2007.
Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak
Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/brad-pearce-the-uae-s-empire-in-africa
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Show Notes
"The Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly funded and worked with al-Qaeda-linked fighters in the country in a bid to counter moderate rebel forces and tarnish the uprising’s image, according to new allegations by Western intelligence agencies, rebels, and al-Qaeda defectors, The Daily Telegraph newspaper has reported." Assad accused of boosting al-Qaeda in Syria Damascus allegedly funded and co-operated with extremist groups to counter moderate rebels and mar uprising’s 21 Jan 2014 21 Jan 2014 Aljazeera
"Some Egyptian youth leaders attended a 2008 technology meeting in New York, where they were taught to use social networking and mobile technologies to promote democracy. Among those sponsoring the meeting were Facebook, Google, MTV, Columbia Law School and the State Department...We learned how to organize and build coalitions,” said Bashem Fathy, a founder of the youth movement that ultimately drove the Egyptian uprisings. Mr. Fathy, who attended training with Freedom House, said, “This certainly helped during the revolution." Ron Nixon, “U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings,” New York Times , April 14, 2011
"The money spent on these programs was minute compared with efforts led by the Pentagon. But as American officials and others look back at the uprisings of the Arab Spring, they are seeing that the United States’ democracy-building campaigns played a bigger role in fomenting protests than was previously known, with key leaders of the movements having been trained by the Americans in campaigning, organizing through new media tools and monitoring elections." This certainly helped during the revolution." Ron Nixon, “U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings,” New York Times , April 14, 2011
"The cables, in particular, show how leaders in the Middle East and North Africa viewed these groups with deep suspicion, and tried to weaken them. Today the work of these groups is among the reasons that governments in turmoil claim that Western meddling was behind the uprisings, with some officials noting that leaders like Ms. Qadhi were trained and financed by the United States." This certainly helped during the revolution." Ron Nixon, “U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings,” New York Times , April 14, 2011
“In all, nine members of the Islamic State’s top command did time at Bucca, according to the terrorist analyst organization Soufan Group. Apart from Baghdadi himself, who spent five years there, the leader’s number two, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, as well as senior military leader Haji Bakr, (now deceased), and leader of foreign fighters Abu Qasim were incarcerated there, Soufan said. Though it’s likely the men were extremists when they entered Bucca, the group added, it’s certain they were when they left” Terrence McCoy, “Camp Bucca: The US prison that became the birthplace of Isis,” The Independent, November 4, 2014
“He returned to Iraq to continue fighting but was arrested by the US military and held at Camp Bucca, a sprawling prison on Iraq’s southern border with Kuwait. At that camp, where the US military held tens of thousands of suspected militants, he taught classical Arabic to other prisoners, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were revealing information from secret files.
After his release from prison in 2008, al-Golani resumed his militant work, this time alongside Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq — also known as the Islamic State of Iraq. He was soon appointed head of al-Qaeda operations in Mosul province.
Shortly after the Syrian uprising began, al-Golani moved into Syrian territory and, fully supported by al-Baghdadi, formed the Nusra Front, which was first announced in January 2012.” Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Zeina Karam, “AP: Elusive Al-Qaeda leader in Syria stays in shadows,” The Times of Israel, November 4, 2013
“BAGHDAD An outsize ceremonial skeleton key traded hands last week in the official transfer of Camp Cropper, the last jail in Iraq that had been under American control. The Iraqi government was, one American general said, “equipped, prepared and poised to take over.”
But it did not end the dark history of prisons in Iraq over the last seven years: Just five days later, four prisoners, at least three of them said to be high-ranking members in the nation’s most violent insurgent group, escaped. The warden and several guards are nowhere to be found.
“Leaders from the Islamic State of Iraq were able to escape from Cropper Prison,” read a statement that appeared Friday on a Web site that carries messages from the group, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. “And no one from the apostates has been able to find them, 36 hours after their escape.”” Timothy Williams and Omar al-Jawoshy, “Top insurgents escaped prison days after Iraq took over,” New York Times, July 23, 2010
“US and Iraqi officials say four prisoners with links to al-Qaeda have escaped from the US-controlled part of a prison in Baghdad.
An Iraqi military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, told The Associated Press that the Americans informed them Thursday morning that four Iraqis being held by the US had broken out of Karkh Prison. He said the men were linked to al-Qaeda and facing the death penalty. (AP)” Ynet 4 Iraqis escape from US custody in Baghdad prison: 09.09.10
“We sourced intelligence on Sudan in hours; we continue to counter terror emanating from Afghanistan, and, having forged a relationship with HTS a year or two before they toppled Bashar, we forged a path for the UK Government to return to the country within weeks.” Speech by Sir Richard Moore, Chief of SIS, 19 September 2025 Sir Richard Moore, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, spoke about the launch of a new dark web portal to recruit spies for the UK
Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion with Radical Islam by Mark Curtis
“We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.” The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate ReleaseAugust 20, 2012 Remarks by the President to the White House Press Corps
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