The conflict in Syria is being fought on two fronts. The first, and obviously most crucial, is the actual conflict on the ground, pitting the Syrian Arab Army and its allies against a hodge-podge of foreign-backed Salafi-jihadi groups in a war not over the survival or overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, but over the survival of Syria as a secular, non-sectarian and multi-religious state in which the rights of its myriad minority communities are respected and upheld.
The second front is over the narrative of the conflict, pitting the Western mainstream media against RT, Sputnik, Telesur, and various other media platforms in which this mainstream narrative is contested.
The inability of the mainstream to dominate coverage of the conflict has resulted in increasingly aggressive ad hominem attacks on those dissenting voices which are most effective and prominent in challenging the mainstream — in the process of which no serious attempt has been made to take on their arguments and analysis.
Someone who falls into the category of dissenting voices on Syria could not be more part of the establishment if she tried. She is Baroness Cox, cross-bench member of the British House of Lords, who visited the country as part of a delegation just prior to the West's missile strike in response to the allegation that Syrian government forces launched a chemical weapons attack on Douma.
The Baroness traveled throughout the country, speaking to Syrians from all walks of life, of all background and religious persuasion, doing so with the objective of gaining an understanding of the country and its people as it continues to endure the most profound and grave crisis of its history.
Thus we were delighted to welcome the Baroness to the show to share her experiences. You can check out her website here.
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