The story of a Syrian officer

Anne Barnard tells the story of a Syrian officer: how did she communicate with him in Arabic when she does not know any Arabic? And when the guy was chatting on what'sup, how were they able to verify his identity?  Why are journalistic standards when it comes to the Syrian conflict tossed out the window?   And has there ever been a story in which ONE SYRIAN is allowed to be cited on the side of the regime? Or does the paper not allow the Syrians who support the regime to speak?  But there is one sentence in the article which is striking: "Many quiescent civilians and state employees are also Sunni; if all Sunnis had rebelled, it is less likely that President Bashar al-Assad would still be ruling."  But for a few years now, Ms. Barnard and her colleagues in Beirut have been insisting that there are no Sunnis on the side of the regime: that only Alawites are with the regime.