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No Turning Back

Page 38

by Rania Abouzeid


  Freelance journalism is a tough, lonely hustle. Good publishing opportunies are like unicorns. I’m grateful to the many editors who published my Syria work over the years at Time (thanks Howard Chua-Eoan!), Politico, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Al-Jazeera America, and The New Yorker, particularly Amy Davidson Sorkin and David Remnick, who have always been very generous to me.

  I am strengthened by the many circles of sisterhood that envelop me, starting with my own sisters: Marian, Reema, Mirna, and Leanne—only borders separate us. My darling nieces and nephew. The formidable ladies of Beirut’s Jabhat al-Niswan: Leena Saidi, Suzan Haidamous, Dalia Khamissy, Mariam Karouny, Nour Samaha, and my guardian angel, Hwaida Saad. My cybersisters in ink: Vivian Salama, Hannah Allam, Alia Malek, Maria Abi Habib, Leila Fadel, Rym Momtaz, and Anne Barnard. Thank you, Nazha Merabi and Connie Zandi, for your constant encouragement over the years. The brothers who are honorary sisters, some of whom I inflicted my manuscript on: Matthias Bruggmann, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Nir Rosen, Martin Chulov, and Mohammed Aly Sergie. The Deca writers’ collective, of which I’m honored to be a part, helped brainstorm the subtitle (especially Delphine!).

  Shukran Abu Jacky for translating most of the poems.

  Finally, thank you to my selfless, hard-working mum and dad for raising daughters to know we could do and be anything. You taught us that our greatest assets in life were each other, and blessings such as a solid education, the things you carry within you not with you when one of those “single abrupt events that can upend everything” happens. You knew from experience.

  INDEX

  _______

  Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.

  Abazeed, Abulhassan, 49, 50, 51, 107, 109

  Abbasid Caliphate, 280–81

  Abdel-Nour, Ayman, 26, 30

  Absi, Firas al-, 122–23, 144–46, 199

  Abu Abdullah, see Jolani, Abu Mohammad al-

  Abu Ahmad al-Shami (Abu Ahmad al-hudood; Abu Ahmad al-idari), 80, 127

  Abu Ammar, 21–24

  Abu Atheer al-Absi, 146, 197

  Abu Azzam:

  and Antalya Conference, 172, 174

  background of, 32–34

  and civil uprising, 34–37

  and death of Bassem, 103

  early detainments by Assad regime, 32, 34

  and early insurgency, 62–66, 97–98

  family visit, 198–200

  and Farouq Battalions collapse, 212–14, 257–58

  and Firas al-Absi, 144–45

  and founding of Farouq Battalions, 74–75, 92

  on governance, 258

  and Hazm Movement, 258

  and inter-rebel conflicts, 170–71, 197, 200–202

  and ISIS, 317, 344–47

  leadership role of, 98–100

  marriage of, 309–11

  memories of, 311

  and Raqqa City, 191

  on rebel-ISIS conflict, 311–12

  self-image of, 336

  shooting of, 200–202

  and Tal Abyad, 166–67

  and weapons acquisition, 109

  wounding of, 201–2

  Abu Fadel, 107, 108, 146, 147

  Abu Hashem:

  and Antalya Conference, 172, 173

  and Farouq Battalions founding, 74

  Farouq Battalions leadership role, 100

  and Firas al-Absi, 145–46

  and foreign journalists rescue, 104

  and Hazm Movement, 258, 260, 318

  and Iranian captives release, 105

  and Jabhat al-Nusra-Hazm conflict, 314

  and US military intervention, 313

  and weapons acquisition, 107, 109, 121, 146, 260–61

  Abu Hassan, 22

  Abu Imad, 80, 205, 207

  Abu Issa al-Tabqa, 317–18

  Abu Julaybib, 80

  Abu Khadija, 80

  Abu Loqman, 191, 196–97, 206, 207–8, 209

  Abu Mansour, 200, 201

  Abu Maria al-Qahtani, 124, 125, 126, 204–5, 207

  Abu Noor, 193, 194, 210

  Abu Osama al-Amriki, 272

  Abu Othman:

  and beginning of civil uprising, 76, 78

  and Daraa children, 76, 77–78

  and early insurgency, 30

  escape from ISIS, 275–77

  and Fatah al-Islam, 16

  and ISIS formation, 207–8

  and Islamist amnesty (May 2011), 78–79

  and Jihadi passage to Iraq, 26–27

  and kidnappings, 334–35

  and new Jabhat al-Nusra recruits (2014), 277–78

  Abu Rabieh, 86, 87, 134, 326

  Abu Ratib, 274, 278–79

  Abu Rayyan, 245

  Abu Samir, 80

  Abu Sayyeh:

  and Antalya Conference, 172, 173

  Farouq Battalions leadership role, 100

  and founding of Farouq Battalions, 74, 75

  and weapons acquisition, 149

  ad-Dawla, see ISIS

  Adnani, Abu Mohammad al-:

  and Al-Qaeda-ISIS break, 279–80

  arrival of, 126

  and ISIS formation, 207

  and Jabhat al-Nusra conflict with ISI, 203, 204

  and Jabhat al-Nusra internal conflicts, 128

  Ahrar al-Sham, 122, 173, 244, 245, 328

  Alaa (Abu Azzam’s wife), 309–11, 317, 344, 346, 347

  Alaa (Ruha’s sister):

  and civil uprising, 38, 42, 83, 85

  escape to Turkey, 156–57, 159, 160

  impact of civil war escalation on, 136, 151–53

  Al Arabiya, 51

  Alawites:

  Assad regime detainees, 239

  Assad regime incorporation of, 20

  and Jabhat al-Nusra, 130

  Latakia detainees, 222–26, 227–33, 253, 290–92, 337–43

  religion of, 19

  Aleppo, 171, 204

  Al Jazeera, 51, 54, 69, 207

  Al-Kabir Mosque (Rastan), 7, 9, 10, 48, 71

  Alkrad, Mohammad Ayman, 76–77

  Alkrad, Shukri, 77

  Al-Qaeda:

  disavowal of ISIS, 246, 249, 251–52, 277

  and Fatah al-Islam, 16

  image problem of, 125

  international nature of, 247–48

  and Iraq War, 80, 124–25, 126

  ISIS break with, 279–80

  and ISIS compared, 246–47

  and ISIS formation, 207

  and Jabhat al-Nusra, 80–81, 125–26, 129, 130–31, 318, 334, 335

  and Jihadi passage to Iraq, 26, 27, 29

  and muhajireen smuggling, 127

  and radicalization, 15–16, 25

  weakness of (2011), 81

  and women’s roles, 252–53

  see also Islamists; Jabhat al-Nusra

  Anbari, Abu Ali al-, 129, 203, 204, 207

  Annan, Kofi, 132–33

  Antalya Conference (2012), 172–74, 211

  Arab League peace mission (Dec. 2011–Jan. 2012), 98, 102

  Arab uprisings (2011), xvii–xxi

  Army of Conquest, 327–28

  Arour, Adnan, 105–6

  Art of War (Sun Tzu), 64

  Asaad, Riad al-, 68–69, 105

  Assad, Bashar al-:

  and Alawite detainees, 342

  and Annan peace plan (2012), 132–33

  and Arab uprisings, xvii

  and Iraq War, 26

  and Islamists, 20

  resignation rumor (July 2012), 141–42

  and Syrian uprising, 70

  see also Assad regime

  Assad, Hafez al-, 3–4

  and Alawites, 20

  death of, 57

  and Islamist groups, 19, 20

  Rastan statue felling, 11–13, 44

  see also Assad regime

  Assad, Maher al-, 71

  Assad regime:

  amnesty (2014), 289

  Bashar al-Assad successio
n, xviii

  European Union sanctions on (2012), 237

  interview on detainees (2013), 237–39

  Islamist amnesty (May 2011), 78–79, 124

  and Jihadi passage to Iraq, 26–30

  leader deification, 5

  proprietary version of Islam, 24

  socioeconomic policies, 18–19, 34, 35, 55–56

  suppression of Islamists, 18–19, 20–24, 25, 30, 49, 50, 57, 78

  US criticisms of, 239

  Assad regime, detainees of:

  Abdel-Salam Fajr Mahmoud interview on, 237–39

  Adra, 188–90, 234–36, 287–89

  Alawites, 239

  and Arab uprisings, 16–17

  Camp Bucca, 80

  during civil uprising, xx–xxi, 37, 40, 42, 76–78

  during civil war (2014–15), 283–89

  during civil war (2016), 331

  during civil war escalation, 111–19, 161–65, 184–90, 234–36

  Daraa children, xxi, 70, 76–78

  and early insurgency, 30, 85–86, 98, 109

  Islamists, 14–17, 23, 30, 32, 34

  Salafi Jihadis, 29–30

  torture of, 15, 17, 34, 77, 117–19, 286, 287

  and weapons acquisition, 109

  see also detainee radicalization; Palestine Branch; Sednaya Military Prison

  Assad regime, political repression by:

  and Abu Azzam’s background, 32–34

  acceptance of, 4–5

  and alternative sources of power, 154

  and Arab uprisings, 5, 6

  emergency law, xvii, 5, 78

  fear as reaction to, 6–7

  and state media, 68, 69

  suppression of civil uprising, 10–11, 35–37, 38–41, 42–43, 44, 84–85

  surveillance, 47–48

  Attar, Bilal:

  and Antalya Conference, 172

  and civil uprising, 49, 50, 51

  and weapons acquisition, 107, 109, 121, 146

  Baath Party, see Assad regime

  Baba Amr:

  and civil uprising, 35–36

  and early insurgency, 62–66, 97–102, 167

  and inter-rebel conflicts, 169, 196–97

  Bab al-Hawa, 144–45

  Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-:

  and caliphate proclamation, 280

  ISIS formation, 206–7

  and Jabhat al-Nusra conflict with ISI, 203, 204–5

  and Jabhat al-Nusra founding, 79–80

  and Jabhat al-Nusra internal conflicts, 129

  and Khorasan Group, 205–6

  and muhajireen, 126, 127

  see also Islamic State of Iraq

  Bakr, Hajji, 127

  Bambuzer, 51

  Bandar:

  and Abu Azzam’s family, 198, 200

  and civil uprising, 35, 36

  and death of Bassem, 102–3

  detainment by ISIS, 254–56, 262–69

  and early insurgency, 66

  exile in Europe, 351

  and ISIS formation, 210

  and Islamic state as goal, 193

  and Tal Abyad, 167

  Basil, 142

  Bassem, 62–63, 66, 99–100, 102–3, 266

  Battalion of Emigrants, 230

  Bin Laden, Osama, 81, 125, 253, 279

  Bitar, Sheikh Amjad, 74, 100, 101, 172, 173

  “black door,” see Sednaya Military Prison

  Bouti, Sheikh Mohammad Ramadan Said al-, 187, 239

  Bouvier, Edith, 103–4

  Buqai, Ammar al-, 101

  Camp Bucca, 80

  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 259–60, 270–73, 319

  Chady (Ruha’s uncle), 217, 220–21

  chemical weapons, 215–16

  CIA rendition sites, 16

  class differences, 18, 19, 56

  Clinton, Hillary, 148

  Clock Tower Massacre (Apr. 19, 2011), 36–37

  Colvin, Marie, 103

  Conroy, Paul, 103–4

  Corrective Movement, 19

  Da’bool, Ahmad, 36, 101

  Daher, Mohammad, see Abu Azzam

  Damascus bombing (2012), 137–38

  Damascus Central Prison (Adra), 188–90, 234–36, 287–89

  Daniels, William, 103–4

  Daraa children, xxi, 70, 76–78

  Darwish, Mohammad, 8, 9, 72, 94, 135, 303–4

  dawa, 209, 250

  detainee radicalization:

  and Al-Qaeda propaganda, 15–16

  in Camp Bucca, 80

  in Sednaya Military Prison, 30, 78–79, 80, 124, 125, 126, 129, 349

  emergency law, xvii, 5, 78

  Espinosa, Javier, 103–4

  Europe:

  refugees in, 297–302, 306–7, 308, 348–50, 351–53

  and sanctions on Assad regime, 237

  and weapons acquisition, 110, 259

  European Union, 237

  exile, see refugees

  Facebook:

  and Arab uprisings, xvii, xix

  and civil uprising, 10, 49, 50

  Fallujah, Iraq, 29

  Farouq Battalions:

  Abdel-Razzak Tlass leadership, 100–101

  Abu Azzam leadership, 98–100

  and Antalya Conference, 172–73

  collapse of, 212–14, 257–58

  criticisms of, 167–68, 170–71

  and Firas al-Absi, 145–46, 199

  and foreign captives, 103–5

  founding of, 37, 74–75, 92–93

  and Free Syrian Army internal conflicts, 168–69

  and Hazm Movement, 258

  Jabhat al-Nusra conflict with, 196–97, 199, 200–202

  and Joint Command, 168

  and Tal Abyad, 166–67, 171–72, 196–97

  and weapons acquisition, 101, 107, 109, 110, 121, 149–50

  Farzat, Ahmad, 165, 184

  Farzat, Suleiman Tlass, see Suleiman Tlass Farzat

  Fatah al-Islam, 16

  Fighting Vanguard massacre (Aleppo, 1979), 20

  First Coastal Division, 338

  foreign Islamist fighters, see muhajireen

  Fouad, 56–58

  France, 259

  Free Officers’ Movement, 60, 68–69

  Free Syrian Army (FSA):

  and Antalya Conference, 173, 211

  Free Officers’ Movement as precursor to, 60, 69

  and governance, 155, 258

  growth of, 106

  hierarchy within, 105

  internal conflicts, 168–69, 258–59

  and Jabhat al-Nusra, 129, 226–27

  Joint Command, 168–70, 172

  and military defectors, 105, 168, 227

  and muhajireen, 122

  and Raqqa City, 191, 192

  and rebel-ISIS conflict, 254–56, 264

  and refugees in Turkey, 178

  Saraqeb, 132, 133, 134

  weakness (2013), 211–12

  and weapons acquisition, 146–47, 169–70, 172, 213, 258–59

  see also Farouq Battalions

  Future Movement (Lebanon), 50–51, 101

  see also Sakr, Okab

  Gadahn, Adam, 125

  Germany, 301–2, 351–53

  governance:

  Abu Azzam on, 258

  under Army of Conquest, 327–28

  under ISIS, 209–10, 246, 263–64, 274–75, 276–77, 309–10

  under Jabhat al-Nusra, 129–30, 155, 191–92, 196, 243, 327, 330–31

  and tansiqiyas, 154–56

  Great Friday protests (Apr. 22, 2011), 37

  Habib, Rami, 229–32, 290, 337–38

  Haddad, Abu Barra al-, 24–25, 27, 29

  Hadrame, Abu Saad al-, 191, 209, 245

  Hama massacre (1982), 20–21

  Hamid, Amjad, 69

  Hamwi, Saleh al-, 80

  Hanin (Alawite child), 223–26, 227, 229, 290–91, 292, 338, 339–43

  Hariri, Rafik, 50–51

  Hariri, Saad, 51, 93, 101, 146

  Harmoush, Hussein, 59–60, 68, 69


  Harun al-Rashid, 280–81

  Hatab, Shaza al-, 339

  Hazm Movement:

  conflict with Jabhat al-Nusra, 313–14, 315, 316, 317–19

  dissolution of, 318

  founding of, 258

  successes of, 261

  US intelligence collaboration, 270–73, 315

  and weapons acquisition, 259–60

  Hizballah, 101, 104–5

  Homs, 34–35, 37, 97, 103

  Hossam (Mohammad’s brother), 25–26, 28, 29

  human rights organizations, 60, 232

  Hussein, Saddam, 26

  Ibtaysh, Mithqal, 168, 169, 171, 172

  Idlib City, 328

  Idris, Salim, 168–69, 173, 211–12, 258

  Ikhtiar, Hisham, 137

  international community:

  and chemical weapons, 216

  and early insurgency, 73, 98

  and Iranian captives release, 104–5

  journalists in Baba Amr, 103–4

  and medical care, 230

  and misinformation, 60

  and no-fly zone goal, 149

  sanctions, 237

  inter-rebel conflicts:

  criticisms of Farouq Battalions, 167–68, 170–71

  Farouq Battalions vs. Jabhat al-Nusra conflict, 196–97, 199, 200–202

  and Firas al-Absi, 145–46, 199

  Free Syrian Army internal conflicts, 168–69, 258–59

  and Hazm Movement, 261, 313–14

  and Islamic state as goal, 145–46, 193–96, 202

  and Islamic State of Iraq, 144–45, 203–6

  Jabhat al-Nusra internal conflicts, 128–29

  Jabhat al-Nusra vs. Hazm conflict, 313–14, 315, 316, 317–19

  see also rebel-ISIS conflict

  Iran:

  and early insurgency, 101, 104–5

  and Farouq Battalions, 75

  Iraq:

  and ISIS caliphate proclamation, 280–81

  and Jabhat al-Nusra, 126–27, 203

  see also Islamic State of Iraq

  Iraq War (2003):

  and Al-Qaeda, 80, 124–25, 126

  and Islamist radicalization, 26

  Jihadi passage through Syria, 26–30

  ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and As-Sham):

  and Abu Atheer al-Absi, 146

  Abu Azzam’s approval of, 344–47

  and Al-Qaeda compared, 246–47

  Al-Qaeda disavowal of, 246, 249, 251–52, 277

  beheadings, 263, 265–66

  break with Al-Qaeda, 279–80

  caliphate proclamation, 280–81

  child recruits, 262, 264, 265

 

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