Dagelijks worden we in Nederland (en de rest van het westen) met fikse superlatieven voorgelogen dat Syrië verantwoordelijk is voor de gifgasaanval in Douma, terwijl daar nog steeds geen bewijs voor is geleverd, sterker nog: de illegale aanval tegen Syrische doelen door de VS, GB en Frankrijk van afgelopen vrijdag op zaterdagnacht, een wraakactie voor die gifgasaanval, werd NB uitgevoerd op de dag voordat de internationale onderzoekscommissie van de OPCW haar werk zou starten in Syrië……..
Volgens wapeninspecteurs van de VN beschikt Syrië al jaren niet meer over chemische wapens, noch zou het land beschikken over faciliteiten om chemische wapens te ontwikkelen of te produceren…….. Toch zou volgens de misdadige coalitie o.l.v. de VS, een opslagplaats voor chemische wapens zijn getroffen en zou een wetenschappelijk onderzoekscentrum plat zijn gegooid, een centrum waar men chemische wapens zou produceren……
Wat betreft het laatste doel: werknemers van dit onderzoekscentrum stellen dat het gaat om een farmaceutisch bedrijf dat medicijnen produceert…….. Dat is toch echt iets anders dan chemische wapens ontwikkelen…… Ook het andere doel was geen opslagplaats voor chemische wapens, maar voor ‘normale wapens…’
De schrijver van het hieronder opgenomen artikel, Whitney Webb haalt voorts ‘de getuigen’ van de gifgasaanval aan: de White Helmets, een in feite door GB opgetuigde groep (betaald door GB, de VS, Japan en… Nederland!) die zogenaamd hulp verleent, maar intussen al een aantal keren door de mand is gevallen. Zo is aangetoond dat deze W.H. Hebben meegewerkt aan executies door ‘gematigde rebellen’ en heeft de organisatie meerdere keren beeldmateriaal gebruikt, die niet eens in Syrië werd opgenomen…… Zoals je hiervoor al kon lezen: het is bekend dat deze White Helmets samenwerken met Al Qaida Syrië en nog een paar terreurgroepen, waaronder Jaysh al-Islam…….
Voorts is meermaals aangetoond dat de vermeende gifgasaanvallen, die door de White Helmets aan het Syrische leger werden toegeschreven, in werkelijkheid zijn gepleegd door deze zogenaamde gematigde rebellen……. Je kan daarvoor zelfs de White Helmets schuld aanrekenen, immers zij waren op de hoogte van aanstaande gifgasaanvallen, maar hebben de bevolking nooit gewaarschuwd……. ‘Bijzonder vreemd ook’, dat nooit 1 lid van deze organisatie is omgekomen door gifgas, terwijl men wel altijd ter plaatse was…………
De White Helmets worden overigens gefinancierd door de VS, Groot-Brittannië, Japan en…… Nederland! (dat laatste staat niet in het artikel van Webb, maar is wel een feit!) In maart onderschepte het reguliere Syrische leger een wapenleverantie voor terreurgroep Jaysh al-Islam, die het gebied in Oost-Ghouta in handen had, onder de wapens vond men ook gifgas……..
Zoals eerder gemeld op deze plek (wat niet in het artikel van Webb terugkomt): waarom zou het Syrische leger een gifgasaanval uitvoeren, terwijl het de strijd in feite al had gewonnen…??? Daarnaast is het zoals gezegd bekend dat het Syrische leger niet over gifgas beschikt, terwijl het een feit is dat de ‘gematigde rebellen’ wel beschikken over voorraden gifgas…….. (waarmee het westen geen probleem heeft…..)
Russia Accuses UK of Masterminding Gas Attack in Syria and Claims to Have Proof
(TIM) — Hours before the United States, the UK, and France carried out “limited” strikes last Saturday morning, the Russian military presentedwhat it claimed to be proof that the chemical weapons attack used as the pretext for those strikes was staged at the behest of the UK government.
De Russische generaal Gerasimov
During a Friday briefing, the Russian Defense Ministry showed interviews with medical professionals reported to work in the only functional hospital in Douma – the suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus where the attacks are said to have taken place. In their testimony, the two men asserted that the footage of the alleged chemical attack was taken after a Syrian air strike occurred and that the affected people shown in the video were suffering from smoke poisoning. They stated that a false claim of chemical weapons use was then circulated, leading concerned family members to douse those affected with water. The Russian military then asserted that the White Helmets, the foreign-funded “humanitarian” group active in Syria, were pressured by the UK government to “speed up” a provocation that they had been preparing in order to push for Western intervention.
British UN Ambassador Karen Pierce called the allegations “grotesque,” “a blatant lie” and “the worst piece of fake news we’ve yet seen from the Russian propaganda machine.”
The main group that has provided footage and evidence purporting to show the chemical weapons attack in Douma are the White Helmets. Syria’s White Helmets, while they have largely been portrayed in Western media as a humanitarian first responder group, were actually founded in Turkey in 2013 by a British mercenary named James Le Mesurier. Le Mesurier is a former officer in the British military and also formerly worked for British intelligence. He eventually left his work with the British government to join with the Olive Group before it merged with Blackwater-Academi to become Constellis Holdings. He then worked in Abu Dhabi before moving to Turkey and founding the White Helmets.
To found the group, Le Mesurier raised $300,000 in seed funding provided by the UK, the U.S. and Japan, according to journalist Vanessa Beeley. Since its founding, the White Helmets have received over $123 million from 2013 to 2016 from the U.S. and UK governments, as well as Western NGOs and Gulf state monarchies. In addition, during the past five years, the White Helmets have been instrumental in blaming the Syrian government for any and all chemical weapons attacks in Syria, acting as both witnesses and responders to events that were later reported to be the work of the armed opposition in Syria or staged.
In Mid-March, the Syrian Arab Army intercepted a truck containing weapons and ammunition destined for the militant rebel groups in the area where the chemical weapons attack is said to have occurred. Among the items found were canisters apparently containing smoke grenades made in Salisbury, England – where the UK government has a chemical weapons laboratory.
Regardless of what information emerges from Douma regarding the alleged chemical weapons attack, the UK and its allies have already unilaterally attacked Syria even though they have admitted that they have no evidence that the attack even took place, beyond social media posts and YouTube videos created by controversial groups with ties to U.K. intelligence.
De enorme anti-Syrische en Russische propaganda n.a.v. de ‘gifgasaanval’ op Douma, is zonder meer hysterisch te noemen en is niets anders dan het bespelen van de publieke opinie voor een volledige oorlog tegen het democratisch gekozen Syrische bewind……… (je kan hier rustig van hersenspoelen spreken)
De schrijver van het volgende artikel heeft de zaken nog eens op een duidelijke rij gezet en kan dan ook niet anders dan tot de conclusie komen dat de VS en haar bondgenoten uit zijn op een oorlog met Rusland, ofwel WOIII……. Let wel: een oorlog die dan gevoerd zal worden op basis van leugens zoals dit het geval was met de illegale oorlogen van de VS en NAVO tegen: Afghanistan, Irak, Libië en uiteindelijk Syrië, waar de VS (gesteund door de rest van het westen) nu met leugens over een gifgasaanval zegt een aanval te moeten openen tegen het Syrische bewind…..*
Onder andere aandacht voor de ‘gifgasaanval’ op Khan Sheikhoun vorig jaar en de enorme leugens die later werden doorgeprikt…… Ondanks dat blijft men volhouden dat Syrië achter de aanval zat, hetzelfde geldt voor de gifgasaanval in 2013, deze werd in de schoenen van Assad geschoven, maar bewezen door de ‘gematigde rebellen’ uitgevoerd >> dagelijks hoor je de laatste dagen (sinds de ‘gifgasaanval’ op Douma) onder meer op de landelijke nieuws- en actualiteiten radiozenders Radio1, BNR, BBC World Service, Radio Nova Scotia en WDR de leugen herhaalt worden dat het reguliere Syrische leger verantwoordelijk was voor deze aanval……..
Voorts wordt nog eens aangegeven hoe blij de bewoners van door het Syrische leger bevrijdde gebieden zijn, blij van de vreselijke terreur af te zijn, waaronder zij moesten leven…..
Years of chemical weapons allegations, saber rattling and a desperate search for a casus belli have culminated in a situation which risks a serious conflict of world powers.
Western neoconservatives and hawks are driving the international situation to increase tension and danger. Not content with the destruction of Iraq and Libya based on false claims, they are now pressing for a direct U.S. attack on Syria As a dangerous prelude, Israeli jets flying over Lebanese airspace fired missiles against the T4/Tiyas Airbase west of Palmyra.
This was Predicted
As reported at Tass, the Chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, predicted the current events almost a month ago. The report from March 13 says:
Russia has hard facts about preparations for staging the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the government forces. After the provocation, the U.S. plans to accuse Syria’s government forces of using chemical weapons … furnish the so-called ‘evidence’ … and Washington plans to deliver a missile and bomb strike against Damascus’ government districts.”
Gerasimov noted that Russian military advisors are staying in the Syrian Defense Ministry’s facilities in Damascus and “in the event of a threat to our military servicemen’s lives, Russia’s Armed Forces will take retaliatory measures to target both the missiles and their delivery vehicles.”
The situation is clearly dangerous with risk of sliding into international conflict and even WW3. If that happens, it would mean the demise of civilization. All of this so that the West can continue supporting the sectarian armed groups seeking to overthrow the Assad government … in violation of international law and the UN Charter.
The most powerful country in the world is now led by a real estate, hotel and entertainment mogul without political experience. Behind the scenes, there is a powerful foreign policy establishment determined to maintain and reclaim U.S. unilateral “leadership” of the world. They don’t like the fact that the U.S. is losing influence, prestige and power around the world. Israel and Saudi Arabia are especially upset that their plans for regional domination are failing.
East Ghouta, Damascus
East Ghouta is a district of farms and towns on the north-east outskirts of Damascus. For the past six years, various armed factions controlled the area. On a nearly daily basis, they launched mortar and hell cannon missile attacks into Damascus, killing many thousands. This author personally witnessed two such mortar attacks in April 2014.
By the end of March, most of East Ghouta had been retaken by the government. With the peaceful evacuation of armed militants, civilians flooded into the humanitarian corridors and then government camps for the displaced. The campaign was proceeding quickly with minimal loss of life as the Russian Reconciliation officers negotiated agreements which allowed the militants to keep small weapons and be transported to Idlib in the north. Vanessa Beeley documented the situation including the happiness and relief of many civilians as they finally made it to safety. One described the feeling as “like being reborn”. Robert Fisk was on site and reported what he saw firsthand in stories titled Watching on as Islamist fighters are evacuated from war-torn Eastern Ghouta and Western howls of outrage over the Ghouta siege ring hollow.
Watch | Emotional Footage From East Ghouta Evacuation
As reported at the Russian Reconciliation Centre, by the end of March, 105,857 civilians had moved into government-controlled areas while 13,793 militants plus 23,433 family members had been transported north. Those who wanted to stay, including former fighters, were welcomed. They could rejoin Syrian society with the same rights and obligations as other Syrians.
The last remaining opposition stronghold was the town of Douma, controlled by the Saudi funded Jaish al Islam. Negotiations were prolonged because Jaish al Islam did not want to go to Idlib which is dominated by another militant opposition group, Jabhat al Nusra also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
The Chemical Incident
On Saturday, April 7 video and stories claiming a chemical weapons attack in Douma were broadcast. The video showed dozens of dead children. On Sunday the story grabbed western mainstream media headlines. U.S. President Trump quickly came to a conclusion, President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay.”
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price…
There has been no objective investigation. The media claims are based on statements and videos from members of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and White Helmets. Both organizations receive significant funding from the U.S. government and call for Western intervention in Syria.
Chemical weapons have emerged as the quick and easy justification for aggression. One year ago, in April 2017, it was the incident at Khan Shaykoun. That resulted in a U.S. attack on a Syrian air base just days later. The subsequent investigation discovered that dozens of victims had shown up in hospitals in diverse locations and up to 100 kms away from the scene of crime BEFORE the event happened.
Strangely, and indicating the investigation team’s bias, this red flag pointing to fraud was not investigated further. If it was just a few victims or just one location, it might be a mistake in time record-keeping. However, in this case, there were dozens of discrepancies in multiple locations, clearly raising the possibility of fraud.
Now we have the incident in Douma, a town on the outskirts of Damascus. The armed opposition is in retreat. They have tried to pressure the US and NATO to intervene directly since 2012. They have access to chemical weapons in East Ghouta and a motive. They also have thousands of prisoners. This is the group which put hundreds of prisoners, primarily women, and children, in cages on the streets of Douma.
Who Benefits?
The timing of the chemical weapons incidents is also noteworthy. As documented here, one year ago on 30 March 2017 Ambassador Haley said the U.S. policy was no longer focused on getting Assad out. Five days later the chemical incident at Khan Sheikhoun happened, quickly followed by blaming the Syrian government, a U.S. attack and a restoration of the demand that “Assad must go”. On March 29 Trump said that U.S. forces will withdraw from Syria “very soon”. This was followed by outcries from the media and political establishment. Now, following the Saturday chemical weapons incident, the U.S. is again threatening to intervene directly. The chemical weapons incidents have consistently resulted in the reversal of a proposed change in hostility toward Syria.
Neoconservatives and the supporters of ‘regime change’ foreign policy have various theories why the Assad government would perpetrate a chemical weapons attack. Senator John McCain says the Syrian President was “emboldened” by the previous Trump statement.
Juan Cole, an academic who promoted the assaults on Libya in 2011, has a different theory. He says:,“Chemical weapons are used by desperate regimes that are either outnumbered by the enemy or are reluctant to take casualties in their militaries. Barrel-bombing Douma with chem seems to have appealed to the regime as a tactic for this reason. It had potential of frightening the Douma population into deserting the Army of Islam.” In contrast with his theory, chemical weapons were used extensively by the U.S. in Vietnam and Iraq when they were far from desperate. As evidenced in the flow of civilians into government-held areas, most of the civilian population are happy to get away from the sectarian and violent Army of Islam (“Jaish al Islam”). Cole seems to be basing his theories on inaccurate western media coverage just as he did regarding Libya where sensational claims about a looming massacre in Benghazi were later shown to be fraudulent.
It’s clear who benefits from sensational media coverage about a chemical weapons incident: those who seek to demonize the Syrian government and President and want the U.S. government to intervene militarily. Every time there is an incident, it is quickly accepted and used by the governments and organizations who have been seeking ‘regime change’ in Syria for many years.
Manipulating Public Opinion
Nikki Haley, United States’ Ambassador United Nations, shows pictures of Syrian victims of alleged chemical weapons attacks as she addresses a meeting of the Security Council on Syria at U.N. headquarters, April 5, 2017. (AP/Bebeto Matthews)
The manipulation of western opinion about the Syrian conflict using fake events is not theory; it has been proven. A good example is the fake kidnapping of NBC reporter Richard Engel in December 2012. Engel and his media team were reportedly kidnapped and threatened with death by “Shabiha” supporters of the Syrian president. After days in captivity, the American team was supposedly rescued by Free Syrian Army “rebels” after a shootout. In 2015 it was confirmed this was a hoax perpetrated by the FSA and their American supporters. The entire charade was carried out by the “rebels”. The goal was to demonize the Assad government and its supporters and to romanticize and increase support for the armed opposition. Neither Engel nor NBC confessed to the reality until it was about to be exposed years later, pointing to duplicity and collusion in the deception.
Four and half years ago, on 21 August 2013, the most famous chemical weapons incident occurred. The Syrian government was immediately accused of launching a sarin attack which killed hundreds of children and civilians. Over the next six months, investigations were carried out. The conclusions of Seymour Hersh, Robert Parry and the research site whoghouta.com concluded that the attack was almost certainly NOT from the government but actually from one of the ‘rebel’ factions with support from Turkish intelligence services. Two Turkish parliamentary deputies held a press conference and publicly revealed some of the evidence. The intent then, as now, was to provide justification and provocation for the U.S. and NATO to intervene directly.
An Imminent Attack
Today there is the imminent possibility of a major attack based on the allegations of a clearly biased source. Whatever happened to international law and legal due process? Why is violence being threatened before there is a serious objective investigation of the chemical incident? If the accusations against Syria are true, why not have a serious investigation, especially now that the area has been liberated today (9 April) and safe access can be provided?
The drums of war are pounding. After over one year of incessant Russia bashing and disinformation, is the public ready to go to war with Russia over Syria? Neoconservative hawks and their Israeli and Saudi allies seem to want this. Their plans and predictions for Iraq, Libya and Yemen were delusional fantasies with the price paid in blood by the people of those countries and in treasure by Americans as well. Sadly, there has not been any accountability for the media and political establishment that promoted and launched these wars. Now they want to escalate the aggression by attacking Syria, causing vastly more blood to flow and risking a confrontation with a country which can fight back.
Top Photo | National security adviser John Bolton listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, April 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Rick Sterling is an investigative journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He can be contacted at rsterling1@gmail.com
======================================== * De door de VS en een paar andere landen georganiseerde opstand in Syrië, al voorbereid vanaf 2006, moest tot een coup tegen Assad leiden, echter een oorlog was het gevolg…… Daarna stelden de VS en andere landen dat men wel moest vechten in Syrië vanwege de aanwezigheid van IS en andere terreurgroepen, die NB voor een groot deel werden aangevoerd door de VS en Saoedi-Arabië…. Met andere woorden: de VS en de NAVO vochten zogenaamd niet tegen het reguliere Syrische leger…… Nu wil de VS dan een volledige oorlogvoeren tegen het Syrische bewind en daarmee tegen Rusland en Iran……… Over de laatste gesproken, Iran: Israël is van zins om bij een vermoeden van agressie van Iran vanuit Syrië (tegen Israël), Syrië van de kaart te vegen, uiteraard een opmaat voor een aanval tegen Iran….. Later meer daarover.
