> How do you know this is true?

Depends on what do you mean with ‘this’.

> How do you know this is true?

Depends on what do you mean with ‘this’.

> Where are the facts and sources in your piece?

Which facts and sources would you like to have (except those mentioned in the article)?

> How about interviewing someone or going to Syria to see for yourself what is happening? Have you ever been to Syria?

Yes, I’ve been to Syria about a dozen of times; have spent nearly a year there in total, and travelled all over the country, interviewing dozens of people — primarily members of armed forces, but few from intelligence services too. Principal reason for that was research for what became the book series titled ‘Arab MiGs’ (six volumes of this were published in period 2009–2015) — and covering operational history of Arab air forces at war with Israel, in period 1955–1973. Of course, except about ‘history’, we’ve often been discussing ‘ongoing developments’ as well — and we still do so, whenever there’s an opportunity, and as far as this is not endangering anybody.

> Have you verified what you are writing?

Yes, I have. Indeed, the way I prepare articles of this kind is to collect information from ‘ground sources’: they’re always providing the most important pieces of puzzle. If the source is new, then I use open source analysis to confirm or deny what the source says. Benefit of this approach is that over the time it’s getting crystal clear what sources are good and what not.

That said, because I can’t name even one of my sources in Syria (for reasons of their, and the safety of their families), I’m then using ‘3rd hand’, i.e. online sources of reference — as far as these are available (which is rather rarely the case).

Since I think I’ve answered all of your questions, hope you don’t mind me asking you a few too. Have you verified your standpoints that are making you questioning mine? Who told you these are ‘correct’ and mine would be ‘wrong’?