The dramatic historical scenes emerging from Syria this week are a stark reminder of the horrors the country has faced in recent decades. We were there for the big moments. In recent history:
June 2000
At the funeral of Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, his “departure” was much more dignified and peaceful than his son’s passing last week. For about 30 years he ruled Syria with strong authority. Create stability in a politically chaotic country but through brutal means. Crack down on Islamist rebels and groups caught in the crossfire in Hama. (which current rebels have blown past on their liberation route), killing as many as 40,000 people there.
Greg Palkot reports on Hafez al-Assad’s funeral. (Fox News)
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The state funeral (including the attendance of then Secretary of State Madeline Albright) that we watched was so well organized that one mourner told us in the queue, “Everyone loves him,” I remarked on camera near my story. “His legacy will live on . . . for better or worse.” This week it got worse. His tomb and grave were destroyed and burned by rebels in his hometown.
June 2012
Only eleven years later there was an uprising. As another outbreak of the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions sprung up across the Middle East, Bashar al-Assad was in the crosshairs. His regime has shifted away from using police to crack down on peaceful protesters. to using soldiers to bomb rebel groups Lock and torture so-called enemies.
We went there in 2012, one of the only Western media teams there at the time. We saw the destroyed city of Homs. This is another city that the current rebels have passed through with little resistance. The image on my camera as we watched Syrian military airstrikes and artillery strikes against the city center read: “You are looking at a country at war with itself.”
Greg Palkot reports from Homs, Syria. (Fox News)
We walked down the dilapidated street where American journalist for the London Times Marie Colvin was murdered earlier that year. We dodged our own airstrikes near a medical clinic, were “shaken up” at a government militia checkpoint, and were briefly taken out by cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski. And we are seeing serious violence across the region. One bomb targeted a state television station – another at a busy intersection in central Damascus.
September 2013
Greg Palkot in an exclusive interview with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2013. (Fox News)
Questions about this chaos that we addressed with Bashar. al-Assad himself in an exclusive interview we conducted on Fox News with former congressman Dennis Kucinic the following year. We spoke at the sprawling palace now occupied by the group. Rebels and curious civilians invade. (Though we know off the record that he stayed mostly in an apartment in Damascus).
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We were amazed at the gentle demeanor of the man who led this bloodthirsty regime. He openly admitted to us that he had chemical weapons but still claimed that he did not use them. (The government took responsibility for the chemical weapons attack last month. which resulted in the deaths of more than one thousand people)
He also claimed that public grassroots protests had turned into civil war. It is now run by “80-90%” al-Qaeda. We dispute that number and ask whether the growing protests are a self-fulfilling prophecy. The harder the government hits, The more bad people are attracted to it. And we asked Assad if he shared his frustrations with many. Someone he might help Syria improve after his father left? “I’m still a reformer,” he stared. Meanwhile, the sounds of rebel gunfire could be heard outside the thick palace walls.
October 2014
Greg Palkot reported on the Syria-Türkiye border in 2014. (Fox News)
A year later, we were at the Syrian-Turkish border. When the rebellion really got out of hand We watch the relatively new but very dangerous terrorist group ISIS. fighting against Kurdish militias in the area and US air strikes Attacked targets in the important city of Kobani. Huge, towering smoke bombs exploded minute after minute. The eventual victory of the Kurds and the United States. It was considered a turning point in the fight against ISIS at that time. The war has become a global conflict with ISIS and, yes, al-Qaeda and other jihadi groups. Divisions are concentrated in Syria to occupy as much of the country as possible. The Assad regime was rescued. (for a time) by Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah proxy militias which performs most of the fighting duties As the three alliances weakened and/or were disturbed by their own wars. The rebels attacked. liberate the country and overthrow the Assad regime
December 2024
Syrians gather in Umayyad Square to celebrate the fall of 61 years of Ba’ath Party rule in Damascus, Syria, on December 9, 2024. (Murat Sengul/Anadolu via Getty Images)
This week we reached out to one of our key contacts in Syria during this period. He wrote in an email the rather obvious statement: “It’s a special moment . . . very good.” Syrians welcomed the end of dictatorship. They were returning to a home they had been forced to leave by fighting. They searched frantically. sometimes in joy or in despair in the prisons where their fellow countrymen were imprisoned and tortured. Half a million people have died in the past 13 years, and millions have been injured and displaced. The economy is a disaster.
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But my friend continued to write: “I’m a little cautious about what might happen . . . and fill the vacuum.” The HTS group, which led the uprising, had previous ties to al-Qaeda and remains on the U.S. terrorist list. Mad al-Sharar, the leader of this group Also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the dyed-in-the-wool jihadist And this has only changed in recent years. So far he and his group had been talking at a good pace. Still, there were many groups. religious sect and divided groups All of which must work together if a newly independent Syria is to materialize. A tall order for the proud people of the country we have known for many years. It’s definitely worth a try.
