DAY 197 - OCTOBER 4, 2011
A pro-Assad hacktivist group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army has broken into Harvard University's website and defaced its homepage causing concern over cybersecurity for the international community. While conducting cyber investigations, US reporters have discovered that the Syrian army is using "deep packet sniffing" software to hunt down anti-government protesters. Meanwhile, the Turkish government has completely severed its ties with Bashar Al Assad while Russia and China successfully veto a UN movement to increase sanctions in Syria. After the fall of Tripoli, the Libyan Civil War seems to be drawing to a close as rebel forces move to capture the last remaining regime city, Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.
You and Jeremy fly from Beirut to Istanbul and from Istanbul to Reyhanli, Turkey. There is heavy security along the border with Syria. You have been in contact with your newspaper who already has one freelance photographer inside but you know there is a dearth of journalists covering the conflict. Whatever information you can pull out will gladly be bought by news agencies around the world. There are several rebel battalions that are based in Reyhanli and as you wait for the Syrian National Council to organize, you get a first hand view of what the fighters look like. They are young and spirited and ready to go the distance.