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How the U.S. Is Using Technology to Aid Syria's Rebels
(TIME) - Jay Newton-Small - Abu Ghassan, a former engineer, was picked by local Syrian dissident leaders to go abroad for sophisticated training in computer encryption, circumvention of government firewalls and secure use of mobile phones - courtesy of the U.S. State Department. As U.S. officials have revealed to TIME, the Obama administration has been providing media-technology training and support to Syrian dissidents by way of small nonprofits like the Institute for War & Peace Reporting and Freedom House. Viral videos of atrocities, like the footage Abu Ghassan produced, have made Assad one of the most reviled men on the planet, helping turn the Arab League against him and embarrassing his few remaining allies almost daily.