Tim Ballard Sacrifices All To Save Syrian Children
He urges the world to see the conflict ‘through the eyes of children’
Tim Ballard, who spent over a decade as a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security and worked undercover for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, is hailed by some as a hero and viewed by others as a controversial figure. I spoke with him about his recent trip into Syria, where he took part in efforts to rescue children trapped in the conflict.
Asked what led him to enter Syria under such dangerous conditions, Ballard explained that his work focuses on the world’s most vulnerable. “We watch for when children are being beat up, and we don’t care. Ethnicity, religion, creed, nationality—we don’t care, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Too often, these days, children are getting beat up and slaughtered, and no one’s reporting it.”
He described how the operation developed unexpectedly. Weeks earlier, his team had been working in Latin America when fighting escalated involving Iran. “I just sent two of my guys. I said, Just go,” he recalled. Those contacts, he said, connected them with “IDF folks, humanitarian-minded folks” who were already in the region.
A short time later, violence in Syria erupted. “Christian and Jewish cities just get terrorized,” Ballard said. “Babies being thrown off of roofs, sex slave markets, 200 kids immediately disappear … beheadings and rapes, it’s horrifying.”
Ballard drew on his previous experience running operations in northern Iraq between 2017 and 2019, when the Islamic State was targeting Yazidi and Christian communities. The pattern, he said, was tragically familiar.
“So we jumped on a plane, got the call on Sunday, jumped on a plane, and just came out,” Ballard said. “That’s what we do. We come out, and we know once we get there, God will give us the rest. And that’s exactly what happened.”
The very first thing we did was … to understand the Druze people, understand what their philosophy is, what their foundation is, why this is happening, why they’re being targeted
Ballard described coordinating with the IDF and visiting the Druze community before going to Syria. He said, “The very first thing we did was … to understand the Druze people, understand what their philosophy is, what their foundation is, why this is happening, why they’re being targeted.”
“We just visited every Druze village and city in Israel. And they’re beautiful.”
The very first thing we did was … to understand the Druze people, understand what their philosophy is, what their foundation is, why this is happening, why they’re being targeted.
You wouldn’t expect—the way the Western media is telling it—is they love Israel, and Israel loves them
He described the close bond the Druze-Israelis feel to their country. Ballard noted, “You wouldn’t expect—the way the Western media is telling it—is they love Israel, and Israel loves them. They are soldiers in the IDF, the Druze, right? They’re represented in the Knesset.”
“People don’t even realize 20% of the Knesset is minority represented. It’s a pluralistic society, very much so. And I just found that so interesting.”
“Everywhere we went, the IDF showed up to escort us to the next village, to the next village. And they would take us to the Druze leaders, and they would hug and drink coffee and tea. I’m like, you guys love each other.”
Ballard’s pleasant introduction to the Druze was followed by harrowing scenes of slaughter and brutality in Syria, and he says he feels it’s his duty to inform the world.
“So I just put out horrific footage, and it broke my heart to do it, but I had to show them this is happening.”
Ballard said the violence he is witnessing is documented daily by contacts in Syria. “We’re getting footage every day. We have assets on the ground in As-Suwayda, and they’re sending us every day,” he explained.
I just saw this horrific image yesterday of a jihadist forcing this sweet old Christian woman to convert in exchange for life-saving medical treatment that she needed. I mean, it’s gross.
Ballard recounted a disturbing image of a forced conversion: “I just saw this horrific image yesterday of a jihadist forcing this sweet old Christian woman to convert in exchange for life-saving medical treatment that she needed. I mean, it’s gross.”
Asked whether the violence had subsided after reports of a massacre, Ballard rejected that perception. “The true picture is, yeah, the mass slaughtering, which was just the most horrific thing you can think of,” he said. “They’re animals. They’re not even humans.”
Give the gift of hope
We practice what we preach:
accurate, fearless journalism. But we can't do it alone.
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
Join us.
Support The Media Line. Save democracy.
He listed the abuses he says continue to occur: “Sex slavery, child slavery, child rape, beheadings, everything, tossing babies off roofs. I have all the footage.”
According to Ballard, what began as mass killings has shifted into a new stage of suffering. “That major slaughtering—they’re now in phase two, which is to starve them out,” he said. “‘We killed who we could, and now we’re going to starve them out.’ They’ve poisoned or destroyed their water supply. They have no means of getting regular provisions in.”
He described the situation as a siege designed to break communities. “And so it’s now just let them die, and that’s what’s going to happen if we don’t start getting things.”
Ballard said trying to understand what is going on in southern Syria is “somewhat complex right now,” because “everyone’s lying” and offering “different versions of the story.”
He said the only certainty was the identity of the perpetrators. It was “jihadist, political Islam, whatever you want to call it,” he argued. “It’s not a religion. I’ll tell you that much.” He called it “a gross ideology” that glorifies killing infidels and thrives on violence.
He raised questions about the role of Syrian forces, wondering aloud whether they had gone to protect civilians but then “got too excited with jihad.” He asked, “What’s the president doing right now?” but added that he preferred not to speculate further, explaining that “it’s best not to talk too much about that because I don’t want to lock anybody in.”
According to him, the timing of his appeal was striking. Just two hours before he made his first public plea, former President Donald Trump had tweeted about the Abraham Accords. “I was not working in collusion—people are going to think we were because we are friends—but he didn’t know we were out here,” the speaker said.
He said Trump’s involvement gave him the opportunity to push his message. He told leaders, “Guys, listen, you want peace? There’s no peace through raping children and tossing them off roofs. There’s no peace through beheading women and raping them and creating child sex slave markets. There is peace through trade and commerce. Choose the trade and commerce path, choose the Abraham Accords.”
The speaker said he hoped that moment “will give everyone the opportunity to do the right thing and give them a pretense to do so.”
Ballard and Friedson discussed the “million-dollar question” the world is facing now: whether to trust and build up Ahmed al-Sharaa and propose an extension of the Abraham Accords, amid questions about whether he is capable of stabilizing Syria. Another question is U.S. involvement, even though “Americans have wanted to stay out of wars.”
Ballard said, “It’s difficult because you say, who is President al-Sharaa? He’s made overtures to the West that he wants to align with the West.” He added that it would be preferable for him to choose that path “rather than align with some other guys in the East.”
He warned against calls for al-Sharaa’s removal, saying that “if you think, you know, oust him, who will replace him? It could be even worse.” He described the issue as “a very difficult, sensitive question that President Trump has to determine what to do and how to maneuver.”
Ballard emphasized that he and his organization did not want to become entangled in politics. “We just don’t want to get in the way of that by getting too political because we’re not politicians. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to rescue kids,” he said. According to him, politics only matters “because it gets in the way of us rescuing kids.” Their goal, he explained, was to adapt to conditions “and find a way around whatever situation we have politically to rescue God’s children. And that’s what we’re doing right now.”
I don’t know if anyone’s actually watched a child die. … Die in pain, and nothing you can do. It’s probably the worst thing on earth or hell to have to watch and [be] helpless. And the mother’s right there.
Ballard recounted three encounters with children that he said defined his mission. The first, he explained, was a young girl who died while he held her. “I don’t know if anyone’s actually watched a child die,” he said. “Die in pain, and nothing you can do. It’s probably the worst thing on earth or hell to have to watch and [be] helpless. And the mother’s right there.”
The second child survived but suffered catastrophic injuries. Ballard said her family had been gunned down by jihadists, and although she was shot in the face, she lived. “Her whole face is gone,” he said. “She keeps asking us, can you call my dad? I miss my dad.” He added that rescuers have not shown her a mirror and that “she hasn’t processed. She doesn’t know what death is, so she doesn’t understand that they’re not coming back.”
Here I’m thinking I’m here to comfort her, but she’s actually comforting me
He contrasted these horrors with a final encounter he described as providential. While carrying a 2-month-old Druze infant into a medical tent near As-Suwayda, he said the baby’s reaction stunned both him and nearby Israeli soldiers. “She locked eyes with me for probably four minutes straight, and she starts smiling,” Ballard recalled. “Here I’m thinking I’m here to comfort her, but she’s actually comforting me.”
The moment, he said, gave him hope and renewed purpose after witnessing such devastation. “She’s telling me there’s hope,” Ballard explained. “You guys got me out. You can get the other ones out, too.” He called the child’s survival “a gift from God to tell us it’s going to work,” and said the experience inspired the next stage of their operations.
Syria’s prewar population of 23 million was cut nearly in half by displacement, leaving behind numerous orphans. Ballard described the numbers that convey the “horrific picture.”
Ballard drew on his past experience in the region. He recalled his time in northern Iraq during the Syrian civil war, when “minority Christians and other groups … were flooding into Erbil.” He said his work with Syria goes back years and remains part of “the same conflict.”
He emphasized the scale of the crisis. “The numbers are significant. There are 700,000 Druze people in Syria. There’s about 200,000 in Israel itself,” he said, adding that he had “fallen in love with these people” for their courage and devotion. “They will stand and die for Christians or Jews or anybody. That’s who they are.”
Seven hundred thousand are on the verge of death right now by starvation or other means
According to Ballard, hundreds of thousands are at risk. “Seven hundred thousand are on the verge of death right now by starvation or other means,” he warned. “And the jihadis—they’re animals—so they could activate again at any time and go in and do what they want.” He said they were seeking a political solution but would continue their rescue efforts regardless.
If we spend $1 million and get one kid out, I will be 1,000% satisfied
Even if only one child could be saved, Ballard said it would be worth the effort. “If we spend $1 million and get one kid out, I will be 1,000% satisfied,” he said. He explained that he looks at the children as if they were his own. “What would I do for my child? I would empty my bank account. I’d sell my house. I’d sell my anything. And so you have to look at these children like that, and it’s worth it.”
Ballard stressed that once children are rescued and receive medical care, they remain under protection. “Once they come into our sphere, they never leave,” he said. He explained that his team specializes in aftercare and has “lots of options” for long-term placement.
Whenever possible, he said, the goal is to keep the children with their families. But he noted that options vary—some may remain in Israel, while others might one day return to a peaceful Syria or be relocated elsewhere. To illustrate, he pointed to past operations: “We rescued over 10,000 Yazidis and Christians out of northern Iraq, and we had to move. Their villages were leveled, so we took them to Australia.” He recalled repeatedly calling officials until Australia agreed to take them in. “Beautiful Australia. Who would have thought? They brought them all in. They have these beautiful villages, and they’re living productive lives.”
According to Ballard, this commitment extends to every child. “We won’t stop until we find them homes—homes where they can be happy and thrive,” he said. He praised the resilience of the people they rescue, describing them as “very industrious people” who are assets to any country. “They work hard. They believe in God. They’re good people. They’re great people to have in your country.”
I then asked Ballard about the film The Sound of Freedom, based on his work rescuing children from trafficking and exploitation. The film opened to critical acclaim as well as controversy. In addition, Ballard battled allegations of sexual impropriety from the organization he founded, Operation Underground Railroad. Ballard denied the accusations, saying that they were prompted by those who wanted to interfere with his work.
He recalled being told that $10 million had been spent to destroy him, warning that it would “look like a bag of bricks.” Within weeks, he said, defamation campaigns hit him from multiple directions—his church, the media, and politics. “It was a mass extortion campaign,” he said, adding that friends turned on him under threat of lawsuits.
His wife, he explained, immediately came to his defense, only to be targeted herself. She was accused of sexual assault just days later, something Ballard called a warning tactic. Rather than retreat, the couple decided to face the storm together. “There’s no one more God-fearing than my wife on the planet,” he said, crediting her with strengthening his resolve.
He described the lawsuits and media coverage as “lawfare,” designed to break him down. “They win if I die,” he said. Instead, he insisted he would survive to continue his mission of rescuing children. He pointed to an upcoming docuseries and a sequel to Sound of Freedom that, he said, would expose those behind the attacks.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Ballard said he thought he had lost everything, including the organization he founded. Yet he argued that the experience brought him closer to God and his family. “When you’re stripped down naked and destroyed, and you only have God … you get it in abundance,” he said. He compared the ordeal to the biblical story of Job and predicted that those who targeted him would ultimately lose everything.
Ballard then shared his personal journey. From childhood, he believed he was meant to fight for others, wearing a Superman cape “every day of my life.” After 12 years working in government, he said bureaucracy and jurisdictional limits pushed him to strike out on his own. The story of that decision is dramatized in Sound of Freedom. He credited his wife with giving him the courage to stay in Colombia when he was ordered home, telling him, “I will not let you jeopardize my salvation by not doing this.”
He described the toll of constant controversy, arguing that child rescue is inherently a spiritual battle. He recalled adopting two Haitian children after a 2014 operation, saying their new lives give him daily proof that change is possible. “They would be dead or trafficked right now,” he said. Seeing them thrive, he added, fuels him to keep rescuing children in places from Syria to Brazil.
When you lie about what’s happening in Israel, when you lie about what’s happening around the world, you make our job harder to rescue kids.
Asked for a final message, Ballard urged people to “see the world through the eyes of a child.” He said he carried “no one’s water but God and children” and pleaded for honesty in how global conflicts are reported. “When you lie about what’s happening in Israel, when you lie about what’s happening around the world, you make our job harder to rescue kids,” he said. He called for unity around one simple truth: “Kids shouldn’t be raped. Kids shouldn’t be beheaded.”
Ballard encouraged people to follow his team’s next operation in Latin America, promising, “You’re going to see a crazy op happen.”
