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Episode: “David Rutherford Show: Syria Is the Warning — This Is How Global Conflicts Begin | Kevork Almassian”

Date: December 22, 2025
Guests: David Rutherford (Host), Kevork Almassian (Syrian analyst)
Podcast Focus: Deep dive into the trajectory of the Syrian conflict, U.S. foreign policy, radicalization, rise of Jelani, and the warning signs for future global conflicts.

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, David Rutherford hosts Kevork Almassian, a Syrian-born analyst with Armenian roots, for a candid, detailed discussion about how the Syrian war transformed into a template for covert global conflict. They examine the weapons of proxy warfare, U.S. and regional strategy, how Islamist extremism was empowered, and the rise of “reformed” jihadist leaders like Jelani. Almassian provides personal and academic context, warning listeners about externally manufactured divisions and the long-term consequences for Syria and the broader Middle East.

Key Discussion Points, Insights, and Memorable Moments

1. Personal Background and Motivation

• Almassian’s Story (07:35): Fled to Syria following the Armenian genocide, grew up as an Armenian Orthodox Christian in Aleppo.
• Studied International Relations/Diplomacy in Damascus, later sent to Paris, then wrote a thesis on the Syrian war:

  “My conclusion was it was a regressive uprising and the militant insurgency against a political authoritarianism, with the goal of establishing a regressive Islamist type of theocratical regime in Damascus. … I rejected to change my dissertation. … I stayed on my conclusion.” — K. Almassian [09:29]

• Impact of War & Radical Groups: Brother was kidnapped by a CIA-backed group in Aleppo, ultimately forced the family to flee.
• Mission:

  “I started my YouTube channel in 2017 to tell the people the other side of the story … show a different perspective of what happened in Syria and what is ongoing in the country.” — K. Almassian [11:25]

2. Ground Truth vs. Mainstream Narrative

• Media Discrepancy: Rutherford recalls seeing on the ground in Afghanistan and Syria realities that sharply contradicted Western media:

  “It was completely different than anything I had ever been able to consume via the mainstream media … it's the ground truth that always tells the truth.” — D. Rutherford [12:44]

3. Origins and Dynamics of the Syrian War

• U.S. Regional Strategy:

  “There was a perception that you cannot make war in the region without Egypt and you cannot make peace in the region without Syria.” — K. Almassian [13:36]

• U.S. aimed to weaken Syria due to its policies: alliance with Iran, Russia, opposition to Israel. After Iraq invasion, U.S. pressured Assad to abandon these alliances (15:30–17:30).
• Turning Point:

  “Colin Powell comes to Damascus and says, look … we have a list of demands. …There is no mention for democracy… what they really asked for is Syria has to cut its strategic relationship with Iran … and others.” — K. Almassian [17:10]

• Resulting Conflict: Assad doubles down against U.S. demands, aids Hezbollah in 2006, crossing a “red line” in Israeli/U.S. eyes.
• Rise of Extremism:

  “Syria has moved from political authoritarianism … into political and theocratic authoritarianism... now, people identify as Sunni, Shia, Armenian, Christian — nobody identifies as Syrian any longer.” — K. Almassian [20:17]

4. How U.S. Covert Operations and Foreign Funding Shaped the War

• Operation Timber Sycamore (26:18): U.S. backed and armed radical Islamist groups.
• Almassian, initially optimistic:

  “…when the protests started against Assad, I was one of the people enthusiastic … but when I saw the demonstrators calling for non-democratic transition … I started noticing patterns that are undemocratic.” — K. Almassian [26:22]

• Radicalization via Media/Fatwas:

  “Al Jazeera Arabic … they were calling for jihad against Syria. … Islamic scholars gave ‘fatwas’ permitting killing civilians and soldiers working for Assad.” — K. Almassian [32:10]

• Consequences:

  “When you dump so much weapons into a society and then you task your regional allies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to radicalize the Syrian people through religious speech and sectarian hatred… this channel has a political agenda.” — K. Almassian [31:15]

5. Post-Covert War & Economic Chokehold

• Shift from Military to Economic Warfare:

  “Trump ended (Timber Sycamore) in 2017 … and that was the Caesar Act, which Trump implemented. … 95% of the Syrian people went broke. … They have demoralized the Syrian people after these economic sanctions that they no longer have the appetite to continue fighting for their own nation.” — K. Almassian [34:59]

6. U.S. Troops, Oil Fields, and the Role of ISIS and Kurdish Forces

• Seizure of Resources:

  “ISIS moved from an organization into an Islamic state thanks to its revenues from these oil fields… the Russians and Kurds, under U.S. backing, then took over. … Syria lost 50% of its oil revenues.” — K. Almassian [36:56–39:20]

• Ongoing U.S. and Turkish involvement, embargoes cripple Syria’s recovery.

7. Who is Jelani? The Manufactured Rebel Leader

• Background:

  “Jelani decided to go from Syria to Iraq to war against the Americans … his expertise was in car bombs. … he was captured in 2005 and released in 2011, the very first month of Operation Timber Sycamore.” — K. Almassian [43:13]

• Suspicious Rapid Rise:

  “Nobody strikes Jelani... None of the armies… this guy was never attacked as if he was groomed. … In 2017, Timber Sycamore ends and Jelani claims to ‘break ties’ with Al Qaeda.” — K. Almassian [46:24]

• U.S. Officials’ Admissions:

  “The former U.S. envoy to Syria, James Jeffrey, on PBS: ‘Jelani’s army has been a strategic asset for the US strategy in Idlib’ … Robert Ford, Ambassador, says, ‘I myself trained this guy.’” — K. Almassian [47:55]

• Almassian’s Warning:

  “What I believe is they are in strategic exhaustion … but once Turkey consolidates its power in Syria, that would be the next stage in a new multi-layered war.” — K. Almassian [41:29]

• Notable Quote:

  “Just once … fire against an Israeli tank. Not even once. He fired against an Israeli tank.” — K. Almassian [50:25]

8. Geopolitical Realignment and Power Games

• Rutherford and Almassian discuss the “puppetization” of leaders — arming enemies to later use against new adversaries, but these schemes often backfire (Bin Laden, Karzai, early Iraqi PMs) [56:28–57:39].
• Jelani seen as next in line for regime change, “reforms” are a smokescreen to align Syria with U.S., Turkey, Israeli interests.

9. Regional Reactions: Turkey, Egypt, Israel (63:42)

• Turkey: Main beneficiary; Erdogan seeks to restore Ottoman influence, essentially controls parts of northern Syria.

  “Turkey has now complete data of millions of Syrians … preparing the demographics … to absorb some part of them into the Turkish Empire.” — K. Almassian [64:26]

• Egypt: Most threatened, last “classical” republic with a strong army; deeply alarmed by a Muslim Brotherhood-style regime next door.

  “If Jelani is successful … this will encourage the opposition in Egypt to rise against Sisi.” — K. Almassian [67:25]

• Israel: Prefers Balkanization, operationally expands into weakened Syria with minimal resistance.

10. The Muslim Brotherhood and Soft Power

• Trump’s Terrorist Designation:

  “The Muslim Brotherhood … are the smartest among the Islamist groups … so good at taqiyah … playing identity politics and integrating with liberal parties to gain political clout.” — K. Almassian [70:37–72:04]

• Soft Power: Funding media, mosques, NGOs, charities — creating parallel societies, wielding influence discreetly across Western nations.
• Personal Example:

  “When I spoke about this when I came to Germany in 2015, I really saw it with my objective eye how they come … they say if you come to the prayer on Friday … we will give you food … that’s the way of using religion and this charity… to capitalize … and gain leverage.” — K. Almassian [73:23]

11. Final Warnings and Conclusion

• Almassian: The region is undergoing a “radical shift” in power structure. Jelani’s rule is not sustainable, but his appointment may be the prototype for future covert regime changes elsewhere.
• Emphasizes media manipulation, foreign exploitation, the loss of true nationhood and hope in the region:

  “They will give you enough to survive … but most of the money will not be in their hands. Like the WEF said, you will own nothing. … In this case, you will not own your country and you will be happy.” — K. Almassian [68:58]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “When we really understand each other, we will also come to the conclusion that many politicians … try to give different narratives to their own people in order to sell a war.” — K. Almassian [04:47]
• “I concocted a significant level of hate when I knew nothing about the Afghan people, the Afghan history … after my first deployment, I was fundamentally confused.” — D. Rutherford [05:35]
• “Assad was no saint. No politician is … but portraying him in a way that you allow the killing of 600,000 people, this is not some flies, you know.” — K. Almassian [33:44]
• “The mainstream media doesn't care about the human cost or democracy, but about who is in whose camp, and whether that camp aligns with American interests.” — K. Almassian [20:50]
• “Your success is our success.” — Petraeus to Jelani, relayed by K. Almassian [63:42]
• “I think that's the way of using religion and this charity, which is … to gain votes, to gain leverage. It’s all about power games for them.” — K. Almassian [74:55]

Segment Guide

• 03:47 – 13:30 Personal history, motivations, value of ground perspective
• 13:30 – 21:53 Anatomy of the Syrian war, external pressures, regional dynamics
• 26:18 – 36:27 U.S. covert operations and radicalization, impact of media, Operation Timber Sycamore
• 36:56 – 41:42 Control and exploitation of Syrian oil fields, U.S. and Russian roles
• 41:42 – 52:20 Who is Jelani? Suspicions about his rapid rise and alignment with U.S./Turkey/Israel
• 56:28 – 63:32 U.S. foreign policy tactics (arming/training future adversaries), effectiveness
• 63:42 – 70:34 Regional responses: Turkey’s ambitions, Egypt’s anxiety, Israel’s calculations
• 70:34 – 78:00 Muslim Brotherhood’s methods, the weaponization of soft power in West and MENA
• 78:01 – End Final warnings, call for awareness, Almassian’s closing thoughts

Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is forthright, deeply personal, and often somber, warning against simplistic narratives of “good guys vs. bad guys” and highlighting the manipulation of conflicts for foreign interests. Almassian consistently urges the audience to seek context, beware of media spin, and understand that foreign “regime change” often leaves societies shattered and open to new forms of radicalism. Rutherford draws on his special operations background to provide a disillusioned but insightful perspective on U.S. strategic gamesmanship.

Find Kevork Almassian:

• YouTube/Rumble: “Syriana Analysis,” livestreams Mon–Fri, covers Syria, broader Middle East, global multipolarity
• [78:42]

Closing Reflections:
Both host and guest underscore that Syria’s trajectory should serve as a warning to Americans and the world: manufactured conflicts do not end when the headlines fade, and the aftermath often creates new powder kegs. The region’s current instability is the result of decades of external intervention and covert operations, and these templates may be replicated again elsewhere—with equally grave consequences.