Ep. 26: Live from Neutral Switzerland, a former Syrian officer talks Assad; later captured & tortured by Al Qaeda | A Polish teacher recounts the Soviet clutch & where things are headed today!

Rethinking Heroes with Cary Harrison is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.A former Syrian military officer defies Assad and defects from the Syrian military - just at the moment that Assad orders him to kill thousands of women and children. He can't do it for personal sanity and decides to risk his life by fleeing Syria forever. But how he was able to escape the military and enter Turkey took some complicated steps. Once in Turkey, he was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda, and then tortured when they found nude photos on his iPhone. There was a death sentence next for him but it was delayed if he could bribe them with cash and guns. A rich brother-in-law came to the rescue, but not after "Rashid" was nearly raped by an Al-Qaeda General (married with two wives) who wanted to have sex with this former Syrian officer. Had the sex happened, the officer would've been executed immediately to cover the hypocrisy of the Al-Qaeda general.This seems like a Hollywood script, but it is a true story and you will hear for yourself in this exclusive Rethinking Heroes interview from neutral Switzerland where Rashid has been granted permanent asylum. <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingheroes.substack.com/subscribe