Syria’s “Liberators” Tortured This American Journalist for Years

[@4x4r974]

The religion of peace in action

[@TTFN55]

I don't know if it's the cousin inter-marriage amongst them or lack of actual education but his jailers seem to be very stupid - as in low-IQ.

[@MegaMARLEEN1]

Oh yeah, what Mr Murray told us all along

[@James-ic7vx]

Bigot

[@anniethomas6481]

100 percent accurate to Douglas & others

[@nicholasmartin7585]

A brilliant interview. Thank you. And kindest wishes to Theo.

[@oab465]

There's no hatred or anger in this brave gentleman's heart, i want him to hate and be angry, but I've never been in his position. But man, this hurts me a lot

[@sivanboodnero]

Him still talking to his captors on the phone is so beyond deranged

[@davidowen74]

The thing that floored me about Isis, exposed by Graeme Wood, is that they are extremely willing to talk to anyone, because they are completely religious and proselytize whenever possible.

[@AB-fr9rh]

It takes great moral courage and power to able to understand the depravity of such a false ideology and this man isn't that strong really. To sympathize with evil is reprehensible. I listened for 27 minutes before I decided yeah, I'm not going to listen to Stockholm syndrome folks lol 😂

[@penguins0r0bol]

An extremely profound interview.

[@TTFN55]

Be sure to see the interview with another westerner who'd been trapped in Syria for years by the Triggernometry podcast guys, FF & KK.

[@nosouponhead]

"FF & KK"? Huh?

[@abigailkannai484]

What an evil society

[@sunnyla2835]

Wow. . . just wow! Thank you, Michael for this interview. It was quite sobering❤

[@cate9963]

Agreeing with you. I was hoping the new government in Syria will be better, but it seems that the way they torture and submit people is the Syrian way. The younger generation just learned and passed it on unless there is a new way coming in. For the time being, sad to say that I am not too optimistic.

[@AnnaAyzenberg-y9t]

Terrible who in charge of Syria , same who did October 7 , 2023. Sorry to these who went through that torture

[@edytha2090]

They are from the same lot as the Israelis all of them shame to shame

[@ligaya.concepcion2586]

These people who said you're animal...they're even worst on what you're accused of. These terrorists are pure evil

[@cate9963]

I don't think they are evil. They are simply staying in the medieval way unfortunately and haven't arrived at the modern day thinking.

[@karlbro7287]

@@cate9963 they're evil. Medieval people wouldn't be doing that stuff, it's not a mindset, it's just evil. These people and their religion are evil, all of them.

[@doloresparlato]

I was just about to write "Stockholm syndrome' and I kid you not, the term came out of the guests mouth. Clinically (I'm a clinical therapist), there are 'trauma bonds' all over the place here. People can bond to each other during traumatic experiences, meaning, the traumatic event is what bonds them together, and it's extremely difficult to break these bonds. I hope this guest is finding the psychological help that is needed for him to heal. And, in order to heal, one has to leave the environment in which one is wounded.

[@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat]

Nothing discredits a human being faster than saying "(I'm a clinical therapist)"

[@ThomasSanders-do3mx]

@@twelvecatsinatrenchcoatyour comment clearly shows that you’re a landscaper or dishwasher.

[@RachelJ-ki6nt]

@twelve - haha, what have you experienced that makes you say that…

[@nataliegavrielov8165]

Oh my god. Theo - you survived. You truly survived. Physically, mentally - you are alive. You are able to verbalize and process everything you’ve been through, all the distortion of reality and normalcy. you are a rock. Please take care of yourself. You’re incredible and really unique.

[@jessesteele7269]

Very disturbing indeed.This is one the most fascinating and compelling interviews I've listened to

[@Zini561]

Everyone should have common sense. There is no way in hell that I would go to any of these countries for any reason. Their mercilessness and ignorance is next level.

[@Enhancedlies]

UK just gave £50 million to these extremists

[@TTFN55]

Say it ain't so! Please!!

[@anomietoponymie2140]

@@TTFN55 It absolutely is so, unfortunately.

[@abigailkannai484]

UK has gone crazy

[@twatmunro]

Labour Party is full of them.

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

I would speculate that the same cash flows have gone to Gaza and Iran and its clients

[@keylowyo]

One of the best interviews I've ever seen in any field.

[@Dktz91]

Truly wild content in this interview. Thank you to mister Padnos for speaking about your experience and to Michael for the great work interviewing. The insights here are vital to beginning to understand Syria and its potential future.

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

Resilience defined Ein milim is Hebrew for no words Toda raba

[@mr.y981]

Raq Malliuem Indexed

[@pammaram2489]

Not one word from the united nations. Decades of all forms of torture, men, women, children, families and death for hundreds of thousands, mass graves for over 50 years and NOT ONE WORD from the united nations or ANYONE else. Madness of our world

[@davidstokar887]

Chilling

[@carolina_D]

This poor man is completely traumatized by torture. There’s something about the way he speaks that sounds so profoundly psychologically twisted. So sad.

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

Odd take, he sounds like he's moved on and has coped, all that a human could ask for.

[@carolina_D]

@@GreenCanvasInteriorscapeyes he has and I acknowledge that but… still being in communication with his captors and the way he speaks about them doesn’t strike you as odd? I attribute it to a Stockholm syndrome of sorts… 🤷🏻‍♀️ my heart goes out to him

[@Tryingtofindmyway]

@@GreenCanvasInteriorscape This is what cults do to people, he knows what's happened to his own mind by it. In his own words he was psychologically transformed. He still talks to them; he's bonded to them in a way none of us could ever understand. It's twisted, it's completely twisted, but he knows that it is. We know that it is, and yet there is nothing that can be done about it. He sees himself in those young men, who were psychologically twisted by the same ideology from birth, that he was in captivity.

[@jessesteele7269]

Yes, I agree 💯. Sadly, this man is damaged forever whether or not he's moved on from these horrific atrocities. This is a very compelling interview. Moynihan's at his best when he interviews troubled souls such as this man. Overall, I am disturbed, to say the least 😢

[@zjzr08]

​@GreenCanvasInteriorscape There's coping, but then there's this concept where he learned to "just submit", a seeming nihilistic perspective where you just give up your sense of self against your opressor, "resistance is futile" kinda stuff.

[@d.s.8227]

I recently read that Stockholm Syndrome wasn't actually a real thing, but his evasive answers about his feelings toward his torturers are to me definite proof that it's very real. But man, I would have never survived what he survived.

[@skontheroad]

I couldn't either. The thought is harrowing. It is Day 436 for the remaining hostages, if alive, wherever they may be and whomever may be holding them. Americans included. I think about them every day. Especially Kfir Bibas, the 8 month old (at the time). It is also long enough that the women we saw on the news being separated by who was able to procreate, to have gotten pregnant AND given birth. It's just awful to imagine. Just as the stories of the surgeries performed by veterinarians on the poor injured people who got out during the first wave and told us the stories of their time being held. It's all beyond comprehension. Listening to these stories makes me feel like he is speaking as it is an out of body experience for him. Maybe that is the only way he can cope.

[@Michelle-vv9lk]

Is there anywhere in the Middle East that has a government that isn’t problematic 🤷‍♀️ (apart from Israel obviously)

[@TTFN55]

There is no functioning Islamic country.

[@cliomuse1206]

Oman seem mild. 🤷‍♀️ I genuinely question whether many of these nations are able to produce anything other than sectarian tyrants. Sounds harsh, but…it is what it is.

[@FalafelFell]

Israel government isn't problematic?! Do you see the news? The genocide? Wtf is wrong with you

[@ligaya.concepcion2586]

Absolutely none

[@brianshea4177]

No.

[@Durga695]

This is so revelatory on how children are raised in the Al-Qaeda cult it is not optional but to sumbit to the cult, and learn how to torture from age 6. Mossab Yousef son of the founder of Hamas in Gaza, has been through the same process as a child though doesn't expose it as explicity as Theo Padnos. Who survived deadly conditions in a Syrian prison. However, T Padnos still has the peculiarity to remain in contact with his torturers to glean information on how the regime is going to unfold in the Levant Region??? Is that the reason?. It would be very interesting for him to meet Mosab Hassan Yousef ex Hamas operative who was deprogrammed, worked for the Mossad, became a Christian and received refuge in the USA.

[@TTFN55]

As I understand it the Levant is the Mideast with no Israel.

[@thevillageyid]

I wouldn't say Mossab is a Christian. In many of his more recent interviews he said he dabbles in many spiritual practices and moved away from Christianity.

[@zjzr08]

​@TTFN55 Levant is just the "neutral" name for Syrian region/Palestine/Israel etc.

[@TTFN55]

@@zjzr08 - Ohhh! Thank you kindly.

[@oober3690]

This man is traumatized. One second he talks about the horror of his situation, and the next second he is speaking so well of his captors. Stockholm syndrome.

[@energytauq8710]

Maybe finally the western Media will cease with this ludicrous coverage of misrepresentation of the HTS

[@ShankarSivarajan]

Most "western" governments do similar things in their prisons.

[@TTFN55]

Be sure an see the Triggernometry interview with a Westerner who survived his life in Syria.

[@PerryHowell-h9v]

​@@ShankarSivarajanno. Not even close.

[@karlbro7287]

@@ShankarSivarajan why are you a liar?

[@kec7116]

Met a Christian from Syria over ten years ago that opened my eyes that while Assad was brutal, what would come next would be worse. Happened in Libya where we destabilized for no understandable reason

[@walkingintheway]

Oh my soul ...Theo...My all Thanksgiving go to Ha Shem...your life was spared...

[@davidowen74]

Another outstanding by Free Press. Racking up wins and paving the way.

[@joannebutzerin6448]

Thank you, Theo Padnos. If we are to survive, we in the west must understand what you have learned.

[@leenzahab6474]

You don't know anything, I am Syrian, and we, the Syrian people, have not been able to speak for 54 years 

[@brendajstevens3719]

Fantastic interview. Compelling, informative and inspiring. 🙏🇬🇧🙏🇬🇧🙏🇬🇧🙏

[@tttrrrification]

Fascinating, absolutely fascinating

[@adish7275]

All I can think about are our hostages in Hamas captivity and what they are going through..

[@PerryHowell-h9v]

I hate this world for its treatment of Israel. I hope you get your people back soon. Thank you for fighting for freedom and the West, even if the West is too far gone to appreciate it..

[@psalm1197]

How I wish you’d let the fellow speak…he had so much to say that you interrupted at key moments. Let’s get him on Jordan Peterson….and hear his story

[@arjay9745]

I feel like the interviewer was always interrupting him at just the point where he was going to say what I was interesting in finding out. I'm left feeling very frustrated.

[@Kyzyl_Tuva]

Yes, poor interview skills. Let him speak and don’t speak for him. Frustrating!

[@yehudithyakobson9325]

Its probably hard for him to go into all this horrific details and its so far away from what we can imagine....the kids he is talking about inrolled in being torturers. all the terrorists grew up like that being beaten and seing beating as part of life . This man talks about this stuff and he knows there is no way to be like before and he keeps talking to this guys as a friend and knows there loneliness and that they never learned another way ...

[@skontheroad]

Wait, what??? "They've rebranded???" That's effed up!!

[@BrendaMarais-g4r]

Great interview.

[@إيمان-ل5ض]

Listen to understand, not to have a reply. Ugh! The interviewer cut him off time after time.

[@jacobrebibo9217]

And the world is obsessed with Netanyahu

[@thevillageyid]

Bibi is a badass.

[@jaimealalu8533]

Incredible dark journey,surprising he was able to keep his sanity.

[@Mountainshark]

Islam is such a beautiful religion of peace, tolerance, and inclusiveness.

[@maril1379]

Do you mean this or being sarcsstic? Guessing sarcastic. If so I agree with you.

[@Mountainshark]

@maril1379 of course, sarcastic. My comment would be deleted if I told the truth about this abomination of an ideology and its 7th-century illiterate founder. Spoiler alert: it involves an unspeakable act on a 9 year old girl.

[@ligaya.concepcion2586]

WHATTTTT?

[@Mountainshark]

Being sarcastic. I can't post the truth. My comment will be deleted if I said the truth.

[@oliverselle2861]

Theo. I'm really astounded at your story. I get what you are talking about keeping in touch with the guys that held you. I understand your feelings and the idea of submitting to them as a prisoner. The interviewer is so perplexed and it amused me greatly.😂 Very interesting experience you have had.

[@esthernebenzahl9270]

It is true, very hard to make any judgments if you have no idea what it means to be tortured.

[@tzipporamiller]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing your story

[@Seevawonderloaf]

Excellent interview. The reason Americans can’t understand that there are two bad guys is bc in America, the narration of the story and of every story is ‘good guy vs bad guy’. In other nations, they don’t look at the world in this binary so it isn’t so hard to understand for us that there are bad and bad guys and both are flavours of negative for us though they might be better or worse

[@cate9963]

They are all bad guys to us in the sense that they are so far away from our way of thinking. Muslim culture just doesn't mingle with the western culture, period.

[@nosouponhead]

We need a much longer interview with this guy. I feel like we just scratched the surface here.

[@sarahkelly2350]

they are holding public executions...

[@krishnaveganathar]

Muslim hospitality. Muslim justice system…. This man is more than fortunate to be alive.

[@novacancy7253]

This interview should be everywhere. Gosh the things he suffer led but the abuse they do the children is horrific because they not just get robbed of their childhood with horror but also transform them into entities of hate, could that be reversed? Gosh

[@TTFN55]

I would expect it to take two generations of exposure to Western liberal education and lifestyle for these people to actually evolve from the medieval mindset/lifestyle they've been stuck in since the 1500s.

[@novacancy7253]

@@TTFN55And sounds not hopeful, we need a mindset change in the whole world, many cultures, for the sake of the next generations.

[@novacancy7253]

Thank you for the amazing interviews you have been doing! Such an amazing job all of you at the Free Press!!

[@Aleho666]

Amazing story! Thanks for sharing.

[@anomietoponymie2140]

The interviewer never lests the guest fully answer a question, it's sooo frustrating!!

[@Tamara-qd5dc]

The leader, al-Jolani, presents himself as a kind of Fidel Castro, defender of people.

[@beniluv3250]

Why does it always needs to be good vs evil? Here is an example of a ruthless ruler replaced by jihadist militia. The ruler protected minorities at times but destabilise his neighbours. The militia showd they can try and be civil while also being ruthless. The world is not a disney movie.

[@emperorarasaka]

This is closer to the truth than the mainstream media or Bluesky users would have you belive.

[@manofculture584]

Lol

[@TTFN55]

I'm sorry but it IS good vs. evil. You're right in that the Mideast isn't "Aladdin" Disney movie.

[@twatmunro]

Most of the Middle East and Africa, it's evil vs evil.

[@thevillageyid]

They are being "civil" to try and fool us.

[@lannys8660]

Oh sh1t. I didnt know hts was al nusra. This probably isnt going to turn out well. Unless there was some severe change in attitude about the other factions. I know the ketader says there us, but that group crasles people who do very, very bad things. Its hard to see hiw they can be trusted to not install their own extremist g 't.

[@lamegalectora]

I cannot stand the interviewer interrupting him all the time without ever saying anything worthwhile.

[@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat]

Yeah not a great interview. Couple times he even Kathy Newmans him.

[@amandacos3280]

This interview is wild and so fascinating. I am so sorry for this man’s suffering and all he has been through. What and how he was treated, their methods, need to concern the West.

[@PhilosophyofArtandScience]

Theo has an amazing perspective. Sounds very realistic and practical.

[@barbaraweinstein2938]

Unbelievable,excellent interview

[@mcbudget]

He was about to say something very interesting about the psychology of becoming a violent extremist at @27:15, but the interviewer cuts him off and asks something banal about Oct 7th

[@davidowen74]

Michael knows where he was going. Oct 7th was committed by jihadists that were raised in the environment he describes. The children are taught to torture people.

[@annelisegrobler2148]

So much evil in this world..😢

[@blyle9371]

Ok, this guy underwent severe, prolonged trauma/horror-he clearly still needs major therapy as he is chatting regularly with these guys??!

[@anomietoponymie2140]

You are so wrong about that. You're from the Anglosphere where people go "no contact" with family for imagined slights and everybody speaks psychobabble therapy-ese. You live in a world so different from others that you can't begin to understand.

[@annabeans0311]

@@anomietoponymie2140nah. You’re insane.

[@thatswhatshesaid.literally737]

*Know islam, no peace.* *No islam, know peace.*

[@anomietoponymie2140]

This video was uploaded 6 hours ago but when was it recorded? This info is time-sensitive: the guest says "They are comporting themselves relatively decently at the moment." AT THE MOMENT. When was that moment? This why it would be good to start each podcast with the date and time.

[@ohdear2023]

Islam is all about peace. What a ☪️ ancer we have in this world

[@sabinereynaudsf]

The people who did the torture in Aby Ghraib are no longer in prison.

[@philhurwood3056]

Fascinating interview!

[@MatuzaMortgages]

The syrian rebels are more of the same. Nothing will change...... more of the same

[@yehoshuadalven]

One of the most insightful interviews I've ever seen

[@RachelJ-ki6nt]

I have so many more questions for him, bring him back. How were they able to contact and work with UN so easily?

[@kristiskinner8542]

18:15 Now thats not true at all. And that same thing is often done to them in those types of schools they go to as young boys.

[@jaynesimmons2403]

Hmmm. I just know too much about the Middle East to make only an assumption at this point. What will happen to beautiful Syria. I hope only good things. For Theo thank you for sharing your story with us all. I wish you well in your life.

[@mikerichter1694]

This is a most stunning account!

[@coreyfisher2542]

This is the craziest shit I've ever heard.

[@lmr1300]

I can not stand interviewers that keep INTERRUPTING!! please let him FINISH his sentence before you jump in!! Makes it very hard to listen to.

[@AJ-yu1ip]

He lost me when he tried to compare 10/7 to jihadists.

[@inka12877]

How is that any different? Hamas and their Gazan civilian friends are jihadists. They are Isis; they are Al Qaeda. They are all one and the same!!! Islamic fanatical fascists!!!

[@PerryHowell-h9v]

10/7 was led by jihadists. Raad Hamas' charter, there's NO ambiguity.

[@LudFahrbach]

The interviewer is awful. He does not sufficiently engage with what Theo says. He constantly interrupts. Very annyoing.

[@davidowen74]

I didn't mind at all. Moynihan knows the subject very well so they seemed in synch

[@dorocaruso754]

What he's describing is the Stockholm Syndrome where the person being tortured gains an appreciation for those who are torturing them as their caregivers. A real twist of sanity. They come to believe they deserve to be abused.

[@annikamyren3026]

That's not "Stockholm syndrom " . It's the fear of things outside the "bubble" so you feel safer with the crimenal

[@evegoodmon]

Talk to Tucker Carlson, 15 millions refugees and 600,00 dead

[@oab465]

Man! This is sad!

[@luciaczitrom8632]

But very true

[@luciaczitrom8632]

But true

[@ilsa_xo]

What a minute ... Shrier! Shrier reported that Padnos knew he was Jewish and refused to help him and acted in defence of the terror group. I'm completely confused. Shrier needs an interview here. Because they have two different accounts of the same experience.

[@rachelkeane331]

Why are these people this way

[@FalafelFell]

There's a German journalist who visited ISIS and tried to understand this and came up with some nice answers.. sorry I forgot his name

[@TheTeach56]

Abu Hamsa? Isn't he the guy Clarissa Ward of CNN "liberated" from his prison cell on camera?

[@RenatoRaeffrayBarbosa]

Ominous interview.

[@froukjerenia9166]

An eye opener about HTS, the “liberators” of Syria in real time!

[@jacobvictorfisher]

Theo, you’re an inspiration

[@sabinereynaudsf]

Which faction exactly held him?

[@TheTeach56]

Why does Moynihan always interrupt his guest? It's so irritating.

[@arisorokin]

please interview his cellmate Schrier. Shryer wrote a book called the Dawn prayer and from what it says padnos or really Curtis is a horrible cellmate.

[@reneemcmichael921]

Excellent interview. Very eye opening. Thank you.

[@GuyBrushThriftnood]

An interview's quality is inversely related to the number of times the interviewer interrupts/talks over the interviewee.

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

More eloquently stated than what I call the hannity Jones Factor

[@cindyho4586]

Can a terrorist be rehabed?

[@thevillageyid]

Rhetorical question?

[@waitaminute2015]

I don't remember the woman's name but she made a documentary on a deradicalization camp specifically for that. So I guess it's possible.

[@davidowen74]

Yes. Masjid Nawaz is a famous one. So is the son of Hamas leader Mosab Hassan Yousef

[@user-ge5qb3xq5m]

Does this make you an “Assad toadie”? Asking for Bari

[@yanivreif7379]

Poor soul

[@kremlinmorons101]

coming to Syria as journalist for 200 bucks is insult to Islam but selling western journalist 4 cash is Holy water 2 Allah 🤣

[@nikkimarland87]

Dude sounds totally brain washed sad

[@NemoElohemi]

Oh, how so?

[@veenacriddle1207]

What shocking evil in the world!! Jesus warned us of this!! God must weep seeing those that wont come to him through his Son Christ Jesus!! So the devil prevails!! 😢😢😢🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@famousfeline]

Michael Moynihan is... not a good interviewer.

[@ataiber1]

Sadly I think that those Muslims succeeded somehow to change his mind

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

He seems to have come out unscathed, moved on and has coped, hard to refute his experience and his lack of hate

[@erosmyers]

bs about most oppressive dictatorship who do you work for US State Dept?

[@tzipporamiller]

I'm so sorry what what happened to you