1. The 2013 sarin attacks in Syria, despite efforts to pin it on Assad, were never proven to come from the Syrian government. On the contrary, the chemical weapons were probably supplied to al-Nusra Front 'rebels' by agents of Turkey. In 2014 Seymour Hersh wrote:
British intelligence had obtained a sample of the sarin used in the 21 August attack and analysis demonstrated that the gas used didn’t match the batches known to exist in the Syrian army’s chemical weapons arsenal. The message that the case against Syria wouldn’t hold up was quickly relayed to the US joint chiefs of staff...
Last May [2013], more than ten members of the al-Nusra Front were arrested in southern Turkey with what local police told the press were two kilograms of sarin. In a 130-page indictment the group was accused of attempting to purchase fuses, piping for the construction of mortars, and chemical precursors for sarin...
A series of chemical weapon attacks in March and April 2013 was investigated over the next few months by a special UN mission to Syria. A person with close knowledge of the UN’s activity in Syria told me that there was evidence linking the Syrian opposition to the first gas attack.2. Did you ever wonder why Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was even in Benghazi, at a 'consulate,' when his embassy was in Tripoli? He was checking on an arms ratline set up by the CIA/ General Petraeus to funnel weapons from (slain) Gaddafi's arsenal to Syrian rebels, to be used against Assad. From Seymour Hersh:
A highly classified annex to the [Senate Intelligence Committee] report [on the death of Ambassador Stevens], not made public, described a secret agreement reached in early 2012 between the Obama and Erdoğan administrations. It pertained to the rat line. By the terms of the agreement, funding came from Turkey, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar; the CIA, with the support of MI6, was responsible for getting arms from Gaddafi’s arsenals into Syria...
‘The consulate’s only mission was to provide cover for the moving of arms,’ the former intelligence official, who has read the annex, said. ‘It had no real political role.’
... The full extent of US co-operation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in assisting the rebel opposition in Syria has yet to come to light. The Obama administration has never publicly admitted to its role in creating what the CIA calls a ‘rat line’, a back channel highway into Syria. The rat line, authorised in early 2012, was used to funnel weapons and ammunition from Libya via southern Turkey and across the Syrian border to the opposition. Many of those in Syria who ultimately received the weapons were jihadists, some of them affiliated with al-Qaida.3. Only Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey -- and the 'rebel' troops they have supported-- had a motive to use gas. The obvious motive was to create a false flag attack that would draw the west (the US, UK and France) into active war against Syria, after Obama laid down a red line in 2012. Both in 2013, and 2017 (here and here), it appeared the Syrian government was coming close to beating the opposition. And then there was sarin.
4. While Obama was initially prepared to wage a hot war in 2013, once he learned the charges against Assad for the chemical weapons attacks did not stand up, and that our allies knew this, he backed off. He left it to Congress to decide on war, and the impetus for an attack quickly died. When David Cameron called for a Parliamentary vote to attack Syria, he lost. Seymour Hersh claims that at a 2013 face-to-face meeting,
Erdoğan said [to Obama], ‘But your red line has been crossed!’ and, the expert told me, ‘Donilon said Erdoğan “f***ing waved his finger at the president inside the White House”.’ Obama then pointed at Fidan and said: ‘We know what you’re doing [supplying sarin] with the radicals in Syria.’5. To prevent the US waging war on Syria, all Syria's chemical weapons (1300 tons) were offered up by Assad, and destroyed, in 2014. At least, this is what was claimed by Secretary of State Kerry, and by National Security Advisor Rice.
But the Wall Street Journal and the Times of Israel said no, despite destroying the bulk of his weapons, Assad held some back. From the Israeli Times:
Assad “hid caches of even deadlier nerve agents” than the ones he gave up.6. It is infuriating that the US media and armed forces can attack Assad over "more" sarin gas attacks -- when he was never proven to be responsible for any previous attacks.
“A new intelligence assessment says Mr. Assad may be poised to use his secret chemical reserves to defend regime strongholds. Another danger is that he could lose control of the chemicals, or give them to Hezbollah.
Had governments and media told the truth about what they knew back in 2013, we would be less likely to be suckered into a war now on the basis of false allegations. We the People could weigh the evidence for ourselves. Instead, we get rehashed baloney from the mass media.
The fake media's sins of omission (avoiding giving us the facts) are equally as serious as its sins of commission (its lies and slanted stories). We need new, honest, Peoples' Media. Thank God for the internet.
7. UPDATE: See Michel Chossudovsky's piece from today with references to the UN and the Daily Mail (2013) stating that US and allies were involved in chemical weapons training of Syrian rebels.
8. UPDATE: And if you really want to weep about US foreign policy, read this piece I posted in March, 2016 from the LA Times titled "In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA."
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