{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gabbard.house.gov/news/in-the-news/op-ed-gabbard-right-oppose-extremists-fighting-syrian-governm", "Op-Ed: Gabbard right to oppose extremists fighting Syrian government", "2016-12-26", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Tulsi Gabbard", "G000571", "gabbard.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "By Salah Zakkour\nAs Syrians, we stand with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to end the war in Syria, and support her \u201cStop Arming Terrorists\u201d bill (HR 6504) as the most effective way to bring an end to five years of suffering and bloodshed in our country.\nSome claim that efforts to stop arming the \u201crebel\u201d forces fighting to overthrow the Syrian government undermines the Syrian people\u2019s struggle for democracy and reform. They incorrectly believe that the rebels fighting against the Syrian government today are the same people who were peacefully protesting in 2011. In reality, the \u201crebels\u201d in Syria today have been overtaken by Salafist extremists who are aligned with the likes of al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups.\nIt\u2019s easy to oversimplify the situation in Syria because of misinformation, propaganda, and a lack of understanding of Syria\u2019s history and culture. While there were peaceful demands for reforms within Syria\u2019s political system in 2011 \u2014 more freedom for political parties and the press, and removal of the state of emergency that had limited democratic freedoms \u2014 this peaceful reform movement was quickly hijacked by armed extremists, who came under the control of Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda and other Salafist groups.\nThe nonviolent opposition resisted all forms of external intervention and violence and called for \u201ca democratic national regime,\u201d through \u201cpeaceful\u201d and \u201cgradual\u201d change. But it was the violence of those sectarian extremists that forced the nonviolent protestors off the streets.\nThis is the reality of the Syria conflict: On the one hand we have extremists, supported by foreign fighters and terrorists from over 100 countries trying to overthrow the elected government of Syria, and on the other hand, we have the Syrian government and army who are defending Syria, with many innocent civilians caught in between. If Syrian President Bashar Assad is removed from power, the nonviolent opposition, religious minorities, and others will be wiped out as Syria will be taken over by the strongest fighting force on the ground \u2014 extremists led by groups like al-Qaeda.\nImagine what would happen to the people of Syria if these violent extremists, who have been carrying out some of the most brutal and disgusting acts against innocent civilians, took over our country. We only have to look at the chaos, devastation and terror in Libya or Iraq to see what will happen to Syria if they are successful.\nThese terrorist and extremist organizations who make up the \u201crebel forces\u201d would not have lasted long without support from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and others. That is why Gabbard\u2019s \u201cStop Arming Terrorists\u201d bill is so important to our struggle in Syria. This bill neither supports Assad nor does it ignore the democratic rights of the Syria people. It simply prohibits U.S. government direct and indirect support for terrorist groups like Jabhat Fateh al-Sham or Ahrar al-Sham, and aims to put an end to a war that has led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Syrian people, resulted in the displacement of millions, and destroyed our country\u2019s infrastructure. It will give the people of Syria the peace we need to decide for ourselves the future of Syria.\nAs Syrians and Syrian-Americans, we wholeheartedly support Congresswoman Gabbard\u2019s courageous work. Furthermore, we do not object to robust screening of immigrants from regions beset by terrorism. Far from treating us as a \u201cthreat,\u201d Gabbard has shown utmost concern and respect for our community, the Syrian people and for all new Americans, which is why so many Syrians at home and in the U.S. support her tireless efforts to bring peace to Syria.\n\u00a0\nSalah Zakkour is a Sunni Muslim Syrian-American from Aleppo who now works in Ohio.\u00a0This was co-signed by fellow Syrians and Syrian-Americans: Rami Muamar \u2022 Micheile Muamar \u2022 Immanuel Kaplo \u2022 Hannah Youssef \u2022 Nabil Kaplo \u2022 Bairt Alkass \u2022 Malk Kouki \u2022 Ghazoah Hanna \u2022 Zane Alabdine Zakkour \u2022 Anne Zakkour \u2022 Fahed Zakkour \u2022 Nahla Zakkour \u2022 Saleh Zakkour \u2022 Khaled Baram \u2022 Afif Ghalwanji \u2022 Nadeem Habbal \u2022 Simon Khoury \u2022 Shawqia Adboudan \u2022 Geneivra Scott \u2022 Mamoun Alabbassi \u2022 Amen Tomeh \u2022 Rana Kouki \u2022 Mario Tomeh \u2022 Georgio Tomeh \u2022 Emanuel Wasouf \u2022 Tigram Hanonick \u2022 Lena Obied \u2022 Jamil Ibrahim \u2022 Talal Bitar \u2022 Mike Matook \u2022 Basal Rahal \u2022 Silva Barsoum", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gabbard.house.gov/news/in-the-news/op-ed-gabbard-right-oppose-extremists-fighting-syrian-governm"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9619399681687355, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}