"President Assad said right from the beginning that he was fighting fundamentalist extremists and nobody believed him."
So now you are advocating for a mass murderer - out of the closet finally and not before time - I see you are addressing him with the honour his rank bestows on him!
The Syrian conflict began as part of the Arab Spring conflict, Assad the thus (to give him his correct title) reacted with extreme violence, as a dictator with track record of torture and murder whould be expected to react.
The West did nothing allowing extremists to fill the gap left by their inaction.
To suggest that the protesters were, as you quote "President" Assad as claiming is as gut-heaving as it gets and puts into perfect context your support for selling him ammunition, riot control equipment and the wherewithal to manufacture chemical weapons.
It would have saves so much time if you had made your position clear from the beginning.
Another item for your C.V. - it will look wonderful next to your "cultural implant" theory.
Have a good day now, I'm sure I will now you've got that off your chest.
Jim Carrol