The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 6th, 2024: Architect of Syria Uprising Breaks His Silence & Islamic State Terror Attack Thwarted In Germany
Sat, 07 Dec 2024
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: We’ll begin in Syria, where the leader of the Islamic rebel insurgents has spoken publicly for the first time, vowing to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad and push out Iranian and Russian interests as his fighters inch closer to Damascus. Then, we’ll look at the renewed threat Islamic terrorism poses to Europe, as intelligence authorities in Germany thwart an Islamic State inspired “lone wolf” terrorist attack targeting a popular Christmas market. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the focus of today's PDB Afternoon Bulletin?
It's Friday, 6 December. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Although, to be fair, yes, if you're being accurate, it is the evening bulletin. And again, I apologize for my travel schedule. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.
First, an update on the civil war in Syria, where the leader of the Islamist rebel insurgents has given his first interview, vowing to press south towards Damascus and to topple the Assad regime.
Chapter 2: What updates are there on the Syrian civil war?
Then we'll look at the renewed threats that Islamic terrorism poses to Europe as intelligence authorities in Germany thwart an Islamic State-inspired lone wolf terrorist attack targeting a popular Christmas market. That's not the first time that that has happened. But first, our afternoon spotlight.
We'll begin in Syria, where the leader of the Islamic rebel insurgents has spoken publicly for the first time, vowing to overthrow the regime of President Assad and push out Iranian and Russian interests as his fighters inch closer to Damascus. In an exclusive interview with CNN on Friday, Abu Muhammad al-Gulani, leader of the former al-Qaeda affiliate HTS,
outlined the goals of the rebel uprising, which began late last week with a surprise offensive in the north, reigniting the country's brutal civil war. So far, his fighters have managed to rapidly seize large parts of northern Syria, including the critical cities of Aleppo and Hama, and are now advancing south toward the capital.
Chapter 3: Who is Abu Muhammad al-Gulani and what are his goals?
Speaking from an undisclosed location, Al Ghulani did not mince words, telling CNN that his coalition of militants will not stop their offensive until they've brought an end to the authoritarian Assad regime and evicted their Russian and Iranian backers from the country. The militant leader said, quote, The goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime.
It's our right to use all available means to achieve that goal. He continued, quote, the seeds of the regime's defeat have always been within it. The Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth remains, this regime is dead, end quote.
Chapter 4: What does al-Gulani say about the Assad regime?
Now, Al Ghulani, a former al-Qaeda operative, spoke of replacing the regime with a pluralistic government based on institutions and a council chosen by the people. Well, that all sounds fine, but I guess the question is, can you believe him?
It was a marked change of tone from the hardline rhetoric al-Ghalani used in his last interview back in 2013 when he spoke to Al Jazeera about furthering the cause of a branch of al-Qaeda called the Nusra Front in Syria.
Chapter 5: How is the rebel uprising progressing in Syria?
Chapter 6: What threat does Islamic terrorism pose to Europe?
We'll begin in Syria, where the leader of the Islamic rebel insurgents has spoken publicly for the first time, vowing to overthrow the regime of President Assad and push out Iranian and Russian interests as his fighters inch closer to Damascus. In an exclusive interview with CNN on Friday, Abu Muhammad al-Gulani, leader of the former al-Qaeda affiliate HTS,
outlined the goals of the rebel uprising, which began late last week with a surprise offensive in the north, reigniting the country's brutal civil war. So far, his fighters have managed to rapidly seize large parts of northern Syria, including the critical cities of Aleppo and Hama, and are now advancing south toward the capital.
Speaking from an undisclosed location, Al Ghulani did not mince words, telling CNN that his coalition of militants will not stop their offensive until they've brought an end to the authoritarian Assad regime and evicted their Russian and Iranian backers from the country. The militant leader said, quote, The goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime.
It's our right to use all available means to achieve that goal. He continued, quote, the seeds of the regime's defeat have always been within it. The Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth remains, this regime is dead, end quote.
Now, Al Ghulani, a former al-Qaeda operative, spoke of replacing the regime with a pluralistic government based on institutions and a council chosen by the people. Well, that all sounds fine, but I guess the question is, can you believe him?
It was a marked change of tone from the hardline rhetoric al-Ghalani used in his last interview back in 2013 when he spoke to Al Jazeera about furthering the cause of a branch of al-Qaeda called the Nusra Front in Syria.
As we discussed on yesterday's PDB, al-Ghalani began as a fighter for the Islamic State of Iraq before being sent back to Syria to further the interests of the emerging ISIS terrorist group, after the civil war kicked off in 2011. But in the years that followed, as splits emerged between ISIS and al-Qaeda, he turned on his backers in Iraq and began fighting ISIS in Syria alongside al-Qaeda.
He would eventually turn on al-Qaeda as well, renouncing his ties and working to consolidate his power by brutally eliminating competitors and former allies. He has since worked to remake his public image. Oh, look at that. He's on a campaign to remake his image after working for ISIS and al-Qaeda.
But he's been working to remake that image as a moderate, appealing to Syria's religious and ethnic minorities. Al-Ghalani attempted to explain his supposed transformation to CNN, saying, quote, a person in their 20s will have a different personality than someone in their 30s or 40s and certainly someone in their 50s. This is human nature, end quote.
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