Child's Shocking Image Becomes Face of Syria's Disastrous War
Watch the interview with CBN's Gary Lane about the plight of Syrians trapped in the middle of the nation's five-year civil war.
DAMASCUS -- It's a video image that is touching hearts and minds around the world, one that refocuses attention on the Syrian civil war.
Rescuers pulled 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh from the rubble of his bombed out apartment building in Aleppo.
Injured and in shock as a result of a Syrian government air strike, the boy wipes his brow and discovers that he is bleeding.
The images were captured by Aleppo Media Center, a group that has documented human rights atrocities committed by the Assad regime.
They included the continued use of cluster bombs and chemical weapons despite President Barack Obama's drawing of a red-line against their use three years ago.
Under threat of U.S. air strikes, the Syrian government backed down and said it would either turn over, or destroy its chemical weapons stockpile. Although evidence suggests the government is still using the weapons, the U.S. has taken no action to stop the regime.
Fighting has intensified in Aleppo, Syria's second largest city where the government wants a victory against anti-regime rebels. A major win here may lead to an end of the five-and-a half year old war, and the suffering of millions like little Omran.
But on-again, off again peace talks in Geneva center on one major issue: President Assad and his government being forced from power.
Many people here in Damascus and Christians included say they want Bashar Al Assad to stay. But the opposition negotiators meeting in Geneva say there won't be peace until he goes.
That may cause the war to drag on for many months--and maybe even years to come.
Meanwhile in Washington, Republicans are slamming President Obama for making a $400-million dollar cash payment to Iran in exchange for the release of three American prisoners.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said the administration has misled the country about the ransom-for-hostages deal since January.
Ryan's remarks came Thursday after the U.S. State Department admitted the payment was made only after the prisoners were released.
"We of course sought to retain maximum leverage until after American citizens were released. that was our top priority, " said State Department Spokesman John Kirby.
That also led to a stinging rebuke of Obama from Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump.
"He said 'we don't pay ransom,' but we did. He lied about the hostages, openly and blatantly just like he lied about Obamacare," insisted Trump during a campaign stop in Charlotte, North Carolina.
No word yet from Hillary Clinton about the Iran exchange and the state department admission. President Obama insists there was no quid-pro-quo.
Critics say even if the president is right--there was no money exchanged for prisoners--it appears there was, and that means more Americans may have a bounty on their heads in the future.
About The Author
Mr. Lane served as International News Director and Senior International Correspondent for CBN News. He traveled to more than 120 countries—many of them restricted nations or areas hostile to Christianity and other minority faiths where he has interviewed persecution victims and provided video reports and analysis for CBN News. Also, he provided written stories and served as a consultant for the Voice of the Martyrs.
Gary joined The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1984 as the first full-time Middle East Correspondent for CBN News. Based in Jerusalem, Gary produced reports from Beirut on the Lebanese civil war. He was reassigned to Washington, D.C., at the start of President Reagan’s second term and served as National Security Correspondent from the U.S. State Department, Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and the White House.
Gary left CBN briefly in 1988 to work as Senior Press Secretary for Pat Robertson’s presidential campaign. Afterward, he returned to Washington and served as Washington Bureau Chief for CBN News from 1989-1992.
Gary transferred to CBN headquarters in Virginia Beach in 1996, where he began more extensive international traveling and reporting as a Senior Correspondent.
In addition to his extensive reporting on Christian persecution, Gary is also known for his reporting on the civil war in Sudan. He made 20 trips to the country since 1993 and also testified before Congress about the plight of Burmese refugees.
Gary produced numerous documentaries, including Americans Abandoned for the American Defense Institute, which afforded him the opportunity to become the first American journalist granted access to the Vietnamese Defense and Cultural Film archives. The investigative film about American POWs featured Vietnam War footage never seen before by Americans.
Gary also produced several persecution documentaries, including one about Christians in Egypt for Freedom House—Their Blood Cries Out—and another about attacks in Indonesia for The Voice of the Martyrs—Island Jihad. He also worked as a production consultant and videographer for the VOM video specials Underground Reality Vietnam and Underground Reality Colombia.
Over the years, Gary covered wars in Lebanon, Israel, Nicaragua, Angola, Burma, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Colombia, Libya, and Syria. He won several awards, including one from the National Gulf War Resource Center for his groundbreaking investigative reporting of Gulf War Illness, an affliction affecting veterans of Operation Desert Storm. The Australian Evangelical Press Association gave him an award for his reporting of a church massacre that occurred in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, shortly after 9-11.
Gary left CBN in 2000 to join the Voice of The Martyrs as their News Director, where he directed the mission’s multimedia efforts. Those included the website, monthly newsletter, video productions, publications, press releases, and media interviews.
Gary rejoined CBN in late 2003 as International News Director/Senior Correspondent. He served as executive producer of three weekly international news programs: Christian World News (CWN); Mundo Cristiano, a Spanish version of CWN produced in Costa Rica; and an Arabic language version of CWN, CWN Arabic, which was broadcast throughout North Africa and the Middle East. He also hosted and produced the weekly CBN News Channel program, The Global Lane.
Prior to CBN, Gary worked for various local television stations in Michigan, including one owned by Time Inc. and another by Knight-Ridder. Before that, he worked at local radio stations in Flint and Detroit.
Gary is a 1979 honors graduate of The University of Michigan, Flint, where he served as political editor of The University News, studied pre-law, and received an A.B. in political science and history.
