DAY 500 - JULY 28, 2012
The UN declares the Syrian conflict "a full-scale civil war" and suspends its monitoring mission because of attacks against its general inspectors. The decision by the United Nations, coupled with the increased instability in the region, goads Russia to station two warships near its base in Tartous, Syria. Additionally, Russian and China, for a third time, veto a UN resolution plan. Syria's ambassadors to Iraq and Cyprus both defect and the New York Times reports that Assad has moved a stockpile of chemical weapons, of which he has one of the largest in the world, out of storage. There is a fear within the international community that the Syrian government may use the weapons in an act of desperation.
Assad's security forces waste no time. One bastard guard, named Harout, puts his cigarettes out on your arms. He uses the raw ends of a car battery to lash your back and he keeps you awake for days on end. You don't understand what you have that the Syrian government wants so badly. You tell them you will do anything to make the pain go away but they don't listen. They don't offer trades. They think you are an American spy. Despite telling them over and over again that it isn't true, they are convinced otherwise. And so the lashings continue. You know either way they want you to admit to it, being the spy that, in reality, you are not. However, you know this will spell almost certain death if you do so. So you achingly go on telling them the truth, most of the time against your better judgement.