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Syrian Gas Attack #161407
04/09/2018 04:51 AM
04/09/2018 04:51 AM
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As soon as Trump mentioned removing American troops from Syria...BOOM...they had another chemical weapons gas attack on innocent civilians.

Isn't that convenient.

Now we have McCain blaming Trump, claiming it's all his fault and Graham demanding we keep troops in Syria to fight those evil russkies.

McCain Blames TRUMP For Syria Gas Attack

“Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers were emboldened by American inaction.”

Steve Watson | Infowars.com - April 9, 2018

Never missing an opportunity to turn a tense geopolitical situation into a personal attack on the President, Senator John McCain blamed Donald Trump for the reported chemical attack in Syria, saying that Trump’s words and inaction ’emboldened’ Bashar Assad and his backers.

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…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

….to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

While Trump decired the attack immediately, McCain waited to release a statement that blamed the President for the attack which has resportedly left over 40 dead.

.@POTUS's pledge to withdraw from #Syria has only emboldened Assad, backed by Russia & Iran, to commit more war crimes in #Douma. @POTUS responded after last year's chemical attack. He should do so again & make Assad pay a price for his brutality. https://t.co/u30kF0ww8g

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) April 8, 2018

“President Trump last week signaled to the world that the United States would prematurely withdraw from Syria. Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him, and emboldened by American inaction, Assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack against innocent men, women and children, this time in Douma.” McCain wrote in a statement.

“President Trump was quick to call out Assad today, along with the Russian and Iranian governments, on Twitter. The question now is whether he will do anything about it.” The Senator added.

McCain then appeared to call for military action, stating that “The President responded decisively when Assad used chemical weapons last year. He should do so again, and demonstrate that Assad will pay a price for his war crimes.”

Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian base a year ago in April 2017, but stopped short of any further military action, despite intense pressure.

McCain also pointed a finger at Obama, stating “To be sure, President Trump inherited bad options after years of inaction by his predecessor in Syria. History will render a bitter judgment on America for that failure.”

“But no one should believe we are out of options.” McCain continued, adding “We can and should change course – starting with a comprehensive strategy that lays out clear objectives for our mission there. It’s not too late to stop Assad’s impunity and begin to rewrite this terrible chapter in our history.”

McCain has long urged for greater US military action in Syria, pushing for regime change. Trump, on the other hand, has expressed a desire to pull US troops out of the region and end US involvement in the conflict, but has been met with stern opposition from military generals.

The tensions escalated Monday with a missile attack reportedly carried out by Israel on a a military airbase in Syria.

Russia has claimed that reports of the Assad government being behind the attack are fake.

Reuters reports:

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday reports of a gas attack in Syria were bogus and any military action taken based on such “invented and fabricated excuses” could lead to severe consequences.

“The spread of bogus stories about the use of chlorine and other poisonous substances by (Syrian) government forces continues. Yet another such fabricated piece of information about an alleged chemical attack in Douma appeared yesterday,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We have warned several times recently against such dangerous provocations. The aim of such deceitful speculation, lacking any kind of grounding, is to shield terrorists … and to attempt to justify possible external uses of force.”


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161408
04/09/2018 04:56 AM
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Graham Urges Trump: ‘Keep Those Troops in Syria’

CNS News - April 9, 2018

“What happens in Syria matters to America,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

He was responding to President Trump’s recent remarks about removing U.S. troops from Syria “very soon.”

Graham on Sunday said he had dinner with incoming National Security Adviser John Bolton last week:

And he asked me, what’s going to be my biggest challenge? And I said, it will be Syria. President Trump has taken the gloves off when it comes to fighting ISIS inside of Iraq. He has done the same in Syria. But he wants to somehow leave.

All I can tell President Trump, you building a wall to protect us from threats from the southern border, there is no wall you can build in the Mideast. The only way we can protect America from Mideast threats is to have our troops working with regional partners to have a virtual wall over there.

If you take these troops out of Syria, ISIS comes back, Iran begins to dominate Syria, and that’s the end of us being a reliable ally. The Kurds that fought with us are going to get slaughtered by Turkey.

The entire region is going to melt down into a Sunni-Shia conflict. So Pompeo and Bolton need to explain to the president of the United States that what happens in Syria matters to America. There is no foreign government or force to outsource our national security.

Keep these troops in Syria. If you pull them out too soon, you’ll have Iraq all over again with worse consequences.

President Trump, speaking in Ohio on March 29, noted that the U.S. is “knocking the hell out of ISIS.”

“We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon,” Trump said. “Let other people take care of it now.”

Tom Bossert, the White House homeland security adviser, amplified that point on Sunday, when he said the United States has been providing “security for the whole world” for too long:

“It is time to move that pendulum back in a way that brings regional partners and others with equities in these matters all around the globe into putting their resources and their treasure and their boys and girls on the line, and not just American troops,” Bossert told ABC’s “This Week.”

“American troops aren't going to fix the six or seven different ongoing conflicts and wars going on in the Middle East or in Syria at this stage. We need regional partnership increased and we need U.S. presence decreased.”


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161409
04/09/2018 05:02 AM
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Former Top UN Weapons Inspector: Assad Likely Not Responsible For Chemical Weapons Attack

“It feels strange”

Paul Joseph Watson | Infowars.com - April 9, 2018

The former director of UN weapons inspectors in Syria says that he is skeptical the Syrian government was behind the chemical weapons attack in Douma because Bashar Al-Assad did not stand to gain in any way.

Dozens of people were killed in the rebel-held town on Saturday, prompting President Trump to tweet there would be a “big price to pay”.

On Sunday night, two Israeli F-15 fighters targeted Syria’s T-4 airbase in Homs province, firing eight guided missiles at the military airport. Five of the missiles were intercepted but 14 people were killed.

However, according to chemical weapons expert Åke Sellström, who investigated the use of chemical weapons in both Iraq and Syria, it is unlikely that Bashar Al-Assad and the Syrian Army were responsible for the attack in Eastern Ghouta.

“With great criticism from the international community, Assad and Russians bombard Ghouta bit by bit, and that they would add the opportunity to be criticized for using chemicals – it feels strange. They do not need it, their tactics are already successful,” said Sellström, adding that there could be numerous “other explanations” for the attack.

Sellström added that if the United Nations was to investigate the attack, recordings and testimony would not be enough to ascertain what happened.

“We would have to meet people and doctors themselves and, in particular, need samples from the environment and poisoned persons,” said Sellström, adding that it would be difficult to measure chlorine exposure “because it evaporates quickly and does not leave any clear markers in the body”.

As we document in the video below, the rebel group in Douma had already agreed to leave the area within 48 hours and the battle was won.

A rebel-held chemical weapons factory was also discovered in the same region where the attack happened just weeks ago.

Given that the Syrian Army was on the verge of victory, it makes no sense whatsoever that they would sabotage their own success.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161410
04/09/2018 05:19 AM
04/09/2018 05:19 AM
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Quote
Originally posted by ConSigCor:
...The former director of UN weapons inspectors in Syria says that he is skeptical the Syrian government was behind the chemical weapons attack in Douma because Bashar Al-Assad did not stand to gain in any way....

...rebel group in Douma had already agreed to leave the area within 48 hours and the battle was won....
Yep, I have doubts about it. If Assad and Putin were smart, they'd allow investigators in to take samples.

Onward and upward,
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Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161411
04/11/2018 03:22 AM
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US Reportedly Mulls ‘Powerful Strike’ on Syria, 22 Targets Include Russian Sites Trump and his advisers have been discussing a military response to the purported attack

Sputnik - April 11, 2018


US President Donald Trump has canceled his trip to South America in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government forces in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta. Moscow and Damascus, for their part, are pressing for a fair investigation into the allegations, maintaining that it was a false flag attack.

Last week, several media outlets reported, citing militants, that Damascus had dropped a chlorine bomb on Douma, which allegedly claimed up to 70 lives. While the United States has held the Syrian authorities accountable for the alleged attack, Bashar al-Assad’s government has vehemently dismissed the allegations, insisting that the entire incident was staged.

According to the New York Times, Donald Trump and his advisers have been discussing a military response to the purported attack, with national security officials voicing their concerns that launching an attack of the same scale as last year’s strike on Syria’s Shayrat airbase in response to the alleged sarin gas attack in Idlib would prove ineffective at halting Damascus.

The Trump Administration officials are reportedly weighing a more powerful strike on Syria, expecting that use of force is the only credible deterrent against further chemical attacks and suggesting hitting a few targets as well as extending strikes beyond a single day.

At the same time, US authorities are not disclosing the details of the potential military response, however, Trump has recently spoken with several world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and agreed not to allow chemical weapons to be used in Syria. It remains unclear whether any of Trump’s allies will take part in the strikes.

Earlier, the US Navy had announced its decision to deploy the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East, along with the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy and destroyers USS Arleigh Burke, USS Bulkeley, USS Forrest Sherman and USS Farragut. While the Navy has described the move as a “planned redeployment,” it came shortly after Washington had accused Damascus of using chemical weapons.

Possible Targets of US Strikes

According to the recent report by Turkish media outlet Yeni Safak, citing International Relations scholar Zakariye Molahafci, the US has designated 22 top targets on Syria’s territory. The targets are reportedly located in the province of Homs, as well as near Russian naval facility in Tartus, where Russian servicemen are currently deployed.

The news agency has suggested that the United States, the UK, France and Israel will carry out coordinated airstrikes against Syria, paying particular attention to military airbases in Homs, Damascus, Tartus, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Al-Hasakah. The allies will reportedly use land, sea and air missiles to attack Syria

“The eradication of the regime’s air defense systems would shift the balances,” said Molahafci, adding that such an offensive would strike a major blow to Assad’s forces.

False Flag Chemical Attack in Douma

Washington is weighing a military response after several media outlets reported, citing militants, that the Syrian authorities had used chemical weapons against civilians in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta, with the infamous White Helmets posting unverified pictures and videos allegedly showing the aftermath of the chlorine gas attack. Mainstream media immediately picked up the story, with some reporting that up to 70 people had died of “widespread suffocation.”

The United States immediately accused Damascus of the attack, claiming that the Syrian government, who has a “history” of using such weapons, was “not in dispute.” President Trump held a phone conversation with his French counterpart, having “exchanged data”allegedly confirming the weapons’ use in Douma, and then made another call to Theresa May to discuss the issue. The three leaders have agreed to cooperate closelywith international partners to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Meanwhile, Syrian officials have denied the allegations, arguing that the chemical attack was staged by terrorists, and the government did not need such measures to curb the militants, as the armed forces had nearly liberated Douma.

Responding to the typically unverified claims, the Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the reports about the alleged use of weapons of mass destruction by the Syrian forces were being spread by the White Helmets, who have been repeatedly busted for fabricating stories and providing fake footage. According to the ministry, no traces of chemical agents had been found in the area where the alleged attack had taken place, and the information was being used to undermine the ceasefire in Syria and prevent the envisaged evacuation of militants from Douma.

“As the Defense Ministry has already pointed out, the Russian military bases in Hmeymim and Tartus are under firm protection. At the same time, we expect that in the event of US strikes, if any, the lives of our servicemen will not be in danger. I think that the United States understands this and will not allow it, because otherwise Russia’s response will be immediate, as the chief of the Russian General Staff has said,” Yevgeny Serebrennikov, first deputy chairman of the Russian upper house’s Defense Committee told Sputnik.

Meanwhile, the Russian Reconciliation Center has spoken with doctors in the town, as well as the Syrian Red Crescent, who reported that they had not received any patients with signs of chemical poisoning.

UNSC Rejects Russian Resolution Supporting OPCW Mission in Douma

The 15-member United Nations Security Council has voted against Russia’s draft resolution to launch a fact-finding mission by the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Syria; while Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Bolivia and Ethiopia voted for, the US, France, the UK and Poland voted against. Other members of the UNSC abstained from voting.

April 2017 Shayrat Missile Strike

A year ago, Trump ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles on Syria’s Shayrat military base in response to another unverified chemical attack, when his daughter Ivanka, “heartbroken and outraged,” showed pictures of babies allegedly affected by sarin gas used by Bashar al-Assad.

Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike…… pic.twitter.com/3nUzrdiGzX

— President Trump (@POTUS) April 7, 2017

On April 4, 2017, media reported, based on data provided by the White Helmets, that a chemical attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province which killed 80 people and injured over 300 – the incident was blamed on Damascus, which consistently denied the accusations, saying that the government could not use chemical weapons, because it had one, as was confirmed by the OPCW.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161412
04/11/2018 03:28 AM
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Trump: US-Russia Relationship ‘Worse Than It’s Ever Been’

Asks Putin to “stop the arms race”

Steve Watson | Infowars.com - April 11, 2018

Following a warning to Russia to prepare for US missiles in Syria, President Trump followed up by stating that America’s relationship with Russia is “worse now than it has ever been,” amid fears of a full scale conflict.

“Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War.” Trump tweeted, imploring his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “Stop the arms race?”

“There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together,” Trump wrote.

Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018

Trump’s comments regarding the Russian economy prompted a reverse in a pronounced downturn in futures:

The President followed up the tweet with another blaming the ‘bad blood’ with Russia on the “Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. ”

Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018

In his earlier tweet, the President openly blamed the Syrian government for the chemical attack last week, calling Syrian President Bashar Assad a “Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it”:

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018

Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin noted that “If there is a U.S. missile attack, we – in line with both Putin and Russia’s chief of staff’s remarks – will shoot down U.S. rockets and even the sources that launched the missiles.”

#Russian ambassdor in beirut : "If there is a strike by the Americans on #Syria , then… the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired," Zasypkin told Hezbollah's al-Manar TV, speaking in Arabic. pic.twitter.com/iMGKMLxWp4

— Nasser Atta (@nasseratta5) April 11, 2018

Following Trump’s tweets, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that US “smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, not a legitimate government that has been fighting international terrorism for several years on its territory.”

Zakharova also suggested that the US “smart missiles” could be an attempt to destroy evidence of the alleged “chemical attack” on the ground in Syria.

RUSSIA RESPONDS TO Trump missiles-are-coming tweet.

Foreign Ministry’s Maria Zakharova: “Missiles must fly towards terrorists, not a legitimate government that has been fighting international terrorism in its territory for several years.”

And missiles would “destroy evidence.” pic.twitter.com/ZgYX0sMXuS

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 11, 2018

Meanwhile, internet users are criticizing Trump for doing exactly what he vowed not to do as regards Syria before becoming President:

@walaa_3ssaf No, dopey, I would not go into Syria, but if I did it would be by surprise and not blurted all over the media like fools.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2013


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161413
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Russian TV: “World Stands Millimeters From a Great War”

Citizens told to prepare to evacuate to bomb shelters

Paul Joseph Watson | Infowars.com - April 11, 2018

As Russian citizens are being advised on what to take with them to the bomb shelter, the country’s Armed Forces TV has announced that “the world stands millimeters from a great war.”

BREAKING NEWS: ‘The world stands millimeters from a great war’ – Russian Armed Forces TV.#Syria #Douma

— BNL NEWS (@BreakingNLive) April 11, 2018

Meanwhile, according to one source close to the Kremlin, the chances of a war between the United States and Russia are now “eight out of ten”.

“I just asked a source close to the Kremlin: “How real are the chances of war between the US and Russia right now?” They replied: “8 out of 10.” I don’t like those odds,” tweeted journalist Brian McDonald.

null

Russian state television is also advising its citizens on what provisions to pack when they evacuate to the bomb shelter while urging them not to panic.

This is terrible! #Russia's State TV has told people how to pack for a bomb shelter but told them not to panic. I can’t believe Osama bin Laden loving Jaish al-Islam will potentially be the cause for a Great Power war. pic.twitter.com/hmq7bLjqES

— Paul Antonopoulos (@oulosP) April 11, 2018

Earlier this morning, President Donald Trump ramped up tensions over Syria by tweeting, “Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018

This was in response to Moscow’s envoy to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin warning that, “Russian forces will confront any US aggression on Syria, by intercepting the missiles and striking their launch pads.”

Trump is reportedly planning a much wider and more sustained air attack than the one he signed off on last year. According to one expert, “the US has designated 22 top targets on Syria’s territory….located in the province of Homs, as well as near Russian naval facility in Tartus, where Russian servicemen are currently deployed.”

International Relations scholar Zakariye Molahafci says the attack could lead to, “the eradication of the regime’s air defense systems,” meaning ISIS and jihadist rebels would be back in the game.

While the world spirals towards conflict and a set and circumstances more severe than those that preceded World War I, most Americans still seem to be pre-occupied with Stormy Daniels and Mark Zuckerberg.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161414
04/11/2018 05:27 AM
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There are no strategic, tactical, legal, or humanitarian justification for U.S. strikes in Syria. A new op-ed ant the Cato Institute.

Quote
President Trump delivered a disturbing tweet this morning regarding a U.S. military strike in Syria, which is reportedly impending:

Quote
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
This amounts to an embrace of Russia’s challenge and it risks a significant escalation of the U.S. role in Syria. It is a profoundly dangerous example of brinkmanship. Americans are now supposed to ready themselves for a military clash with a nuclear power over a U.S. military strike against the Assad regime that has no legitimate justification.

First, any U.S. strike against Syria will be illegal unless it first receives explicit authorization from Congress. As was the case with Trump’s previous missile strike against the Assad regime last April, he will be acting unlawfully if he takes this action.

Second, what does the administration expect to accomplish here? No U.S. military action short of all-out regime change is going to deter the Assad government from committing future atrocities. The strike in April 2017 had zero strategic or tactical utility. It did nothing to resolve the Syrian civil war. It did not serve U.S. national interests in any tangible way. Nor did it serve any humanitarian objective. The Assad regime has continued to use violence against its own people.

Third, it strains common sense that we would take an illegal military action with virtually no chance of success and with high risks of escalation because roughly 40 people were killed by chlorine in a civil war that has killed 500,000 people by bullets and bombs. Chemical weapons occupy a special place in our minds as a particularly cruel form of violence, but there is nothing special about them, except perhaps that they are less lethal than the conventional military means by which most Syrians have been killed or maimed in this war.

Reports indicate that the Trump administration is trying to find a Goldilocks military option that would be more damaging than the pin-prick punitive strike last April, but not big enough to entangle the United States in another Middle East quagmire by toppling the Assad government or clashing directly with Russian or Iranian forces in a way that triggers escalatory measures. This is a farcical exercise that ignores the utter lack of strategic, tactical, legal, or humanitarian rationale for military action.

Just days prior to news of this recent chemical weapons attack in Syria, President Trump articulated his desire to withdraw U.S. forces from the country. His instincts were correct.
Onward and upward,
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Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161415
04/11/2018 12:47 PM
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I find it highly suspicious that almost immediately after Trump announced he wanted to pull US troops out of Syria...

The military brass hum hawed and said they had no plans to do so and then...

there was a chemical attack against innocent civilians.

And, Now we have the usual suspects (Mcstain. Graham, Bolton et al.) screaming for war at the top of their lungs. They and the military are demanding Trump do something. One of them said today that if Trump isn't willing to bomb Syria, including Russian troops, that proves Trump is colluding with Putin.

Does anyone still remember when the video of the little girl from Kuwait was used as an excuse to invade Iraq. That video was later proven to be staged...used to sway public opinion to support a war the hawks wanted. And those chemical weapons of mass destruction...the ones that were never found.

Something is as rotten as a dead fish.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161416
04/11/2018 04:09 PM
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Trump and Putin are rattling swords, and Iran is promising revenge on Israel for their air attack in Syria. The winds of war are approaching gale force.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161417
04/13/2018 03:14 AM
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Is Trump Standing Down in Syria?

The relief at his apparent stand down was palpable

Patrick J. Buchanan - April 13, 2018

Wednesday morning, President Trump jolted the nation with a tweet that contained both threat and taunt:

“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’ You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”

Trump was responding to a warning by Russia that she would shoot down U.S. missiles fired at her Syrian allies, and she reserved the right to fire on U.S. warships and bases from which any such missiles were launched.

The “Gas Killing Animal” was Syrian President Bashar Assad.

That afternoon, Defense Secretary James Mattis dialed it down. Had he seen enough evidence to convict Assad of a poison gas attack in Douma, Mattis was asked. His reply: “We are still assessing the intelligence. … We’re still working on this.”

Thursday morning, Trump seemed to walk back his threat: “Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!”

Is Trump planning a larger attack and silently gathering allies? Is he signaling that a U.S. attack on Syria may not be coming?

Whichever, the relief at his apparent stand down was palpable.

Yet the interlude should cause some sober second thoughts.

Why risk war with Russia in Syria, when, by our own inaction during this seven-year civil war, we have shown we have no vital interest there? And, surely, we have no interest in Syria so crucial as to justify a war with a nuclear-armed Russia.

Trump allowed his revulsion at the awful pictures of dead children, allegedly gassed, to impel him to threaten military action almost certain to result in more dead children.

Emotions should not be allowed to overrule what the president has thought and expressed many times: While the outcome of Syria’s civil war may mean everything to Assad, and much to Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel, it means comparatively little to a USA 5,000 miles away.

We cannot forever fight other peoples’ wars without ending up on the same ash heap of history as the other world powers before us.

And why not talk directly to our adversaries there?

If Trump can talk to Kim Jong Un, who used an anti-aircraft gun to execute his uncle and had his half-brother murdered in a Malaysian airport with a chemical weapon, why cannot we talk to Bashar Assad?

In 1974, Richard Nixon flew to Damascus to establish ties to Assad’s father, the future “Butcher of Hama.” George H.W. Bush enlisted Hafez al-Assad and 4,000 Syrian troops in his Gulf War to liberate Kuwait.

What are America’s limited interests in Syria in 2018?

Containing al-Qaida, exterminating the ISIS caliphate, and effecting the best deal we can for the Kurds who have been loyal and crucial to our campaign against ISIS. Damascus, Moscow and Tehran are not fighting us on these fronts. For al-Qaida and ISIS are their enemies as well.

As for the political future of Syria, it is not vital to us and not ours to determine. And the efforts of others to have us come fight their wars, while understandable, need to be resisted.

All over this city, and across the Middle East, there are people who wish to conscript U.S. wealth and power to advance their goals and achieve their visions. Having let them succeed so often has diminished us as a superpower from what we were at the end of the Cold War.

This should stop, and the nation knows it.

Among the reasons Democrats nominated Barack Obama and America elected him was that his opponents, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, supported the Iraq War Obama opposed.

Among the reasons the Republican Party nominated Trump and the nation elected him was that he promised to take us out and keep us out of wars like this Syrian civil war.

Is it not ironic that today our War Party, which, almost to a man, loathed Trump and rejected his candidacy, is goading and cheering him on, deeper and deeper into the Syrian quagmire?

Trump is heading into a 60-day period that will go far to determine the fate of his presidency and the future of the Middle East.

If investigators determine that Assad’s forces used poison gas on civilians in Douma, Trump will have to decide whether to repeat the strike he made on Syria, a year ago, and, this time, risk war with Russia.

He will have to decide by May 12 whether the U.S. walks away from the Iran nuclear deal. On May 15 comes the formal move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, the 70th anniversary of the birth of Israel and of the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” of the Palestinians, and the culmination of the Friday protests in Gaza that have turned so bloody.

We and Mr. Trump are heading into interesting times.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161418
04/13/2018 03:56 AM
04/13/2018 03:56 AM
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It's Friday the 13th. I don't know how superstitious Trump is, but it doesn't look like the missiles will be unleashed today.

I don't know how intentional it is, but psychologically this must be playing havoc with both the Syrians and the Russians. Neither of them are any match for the U.S. in the Middle East, and at the same time they can't stay on high alert forever. The waiting game must be nerve racking.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161419
04/13/2018 05:36 AM
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Nuclear ‘Doomsday Plane’ Goes Airborne As War Fears Grow

E-4B Nightwatch allows US to maintain chain of command in the event of a major conflict

Paul Joseph Watson | Infowars.com - April 13, 2018

The Boeing E-4B Nightwatch, more commonly known as the ‘Doomsday plane’, went airborne minutes after Donald Trump vowed to strike Syria earlier this week.

The Nightwatch is an airborne nuclear war command center that allows the U.S. government to maintain a chain of command in the event of a major war.

One of the fleet of 10 doomsday planes is always kept in close proximity to the president, even when he is out of the country. The aircraft can stay airborne for up to 150 hours and has in-built electromagnetic pulse protection to survive the impact of a nuclear strike.

Airborne from Wright-Patterson?!

🇺🇸 US Air Force
E-4B Nightwatch
73-1677 MATH01 pic.twitter.com/Wu4kDI8hCy

— CivMilAir ✈ (@CivMilAir) April 11, 2018

The Nightwatch took off from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Indiana shortly after President Trump tweeted that missiles “will be coming” despite Russia’s vow to shoot them down and attack launch pads.

Pentagon officials declined to comment on the deployment of the aircraft.

Another of the ‘doomsday planes’ – a Boeing 747 E-4B was also stationed over the White House shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

From everything Infowars understands, there is no “debate” on whether the Syria strike is happening or not. The only disagreements are over the number and location of targets to be hit.

While the media appears to be blasé about the threat of World War 3 – preferring instead to focus on James Comey’s salacious new book – more sober voices are offering stern warnings.

Professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University Stephen Cohen told Tucker Carlson last night, “I am more worried than I have ever been in my life,” about a nuclear confrontation with Russia.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161420
04/13/2018 07:52 AM
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Quote
Originally posted by ConSigCor:
...Professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University Stephen Cohen told Tucker Carlson last night, “I am more worried than I have ever been in my life,” about a nuclear confrontation with Russia.
I must be a whole lot older than Stephen Cohen. I was at SAC Headquarters when we got word that the Russians had shot down KAL 007, and our bombers and tankers were headed to their failsafe points.

Onward and upward,
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Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161421
04/13/2018 02:22 PM
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It's on. Agence Presse is reporting that explosions can be heard in downtown Damascus. I doubt they're targeting Assad himself (we learned our lesson about that in Libya), but it looks like we're sending him a loud message.

Onward and upward,
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Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161422
04/13/2018 04:06 PM
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Alex Jones is cursing Trump right now telling the POTUS to ....... "GO S**K A C**K !!!" Over and over and over !!!
OMG......


My Daddy is like duct tape, he can fix almost anything.

A quote from my youngest daughter at 4yrs old, many years ago.
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161423
04/13/2018 04:18 PM
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I honestly thought Alex Jones was going to stroke out. Warning for foul language.

Onward and upward,
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Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161424
04/13/2018 04:27 PM
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Here is the White House transcript of Trump's announcement:

Quote
THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, a short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway. We thank them both.

Tonight, I want to speak with you about why we have taken this action.

One year ago, Assad launched a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people. The United States responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20 percent of the Syrian Air Force.

Last Saturday, the Assad regime again deployed chemical weapons to slaughter innocent civilians -- this time, in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus. This massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime.

The evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children, thrashing in pain and gasping for air. These are not the actions of a man; they are crimes of a monster instead.

Following the horrors of World War I a century ago, civilized nations joined together to ban chemical warfare. Chemical weapons are uniquely dangerous not only because they inflict gruesome suffering, but because even small amounts can unleash widespread devastation.

The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread, and use of chemical weapons. Establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the United States. The combined American, British, and French response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power -- military, economic, and diplomatic. We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents.

I also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping, and financing the criminal Assad regime.

To Iran, and to Russia, I ask: What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children?

The nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. No nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators.

In 2013, President Putin and his government promised the world that they would guarantee the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons. Assad’s recent attack -- and today’s response -- are the direct result of Russia’s failure to keep that promise.

Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path, or if it will join with civilized nations as a force for stability and peace. Hopefully, someday we’ll get along with Russia, and maybe even Iran -- but maybe not.

I will say this: The United States has a lot to offer, with the greatest and most powerful economy in the history of the world.

In Syria, the United States -- with but a small force being used to eliminate what is left of ISIS -- is doing what is necessary to protect the American people. Over the last year, nearly 100 percent of the territory once controlled by the so-called ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq has been liberated and eliminated.

The United States has also rebuilt our friendships across the Middle East. We have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region, including contributing large amounts of money for the resources, equipment, and all of the anti-ISIS effort. Increased engagement from our friends, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and others can ensure that Iran does not profit from the eradication of ISIS.

America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria under no circumstances. As other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home. And great warriors they are.

Looking around our very troubled world, Americans have no illusions. We cannot purge the world of evil, or act everywhere there is tyranny.

No amount of American blood or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the Middle East. It’s a troubled place. We will try to make it better, but it is a troubled place. The United States will be a partner and a friend, but the fate of the region lies in the hands of its own people.

In the last century, we looked straight into the darkest places of the human soul. We saw the anguish that can be unleashed and the evil that can take hold. By the end of the World War I, more than one million people had been killed or injured by chemical weapons. We never want to see that ghastly specter return.

So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality.

Tonight, I ask all Americans to say a prayer for our noble warriors and our allies as they carry out their missions.

We pray that God will bring comfort to those suffering in Syria. We pray that God will guide the whole region toward a future of dignity and of peace.

And we pray that God will continue to watch over and bless the United States of America.

Thank you, and goodnight. Thank you.
Onward and upward,
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Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161425
04/13/2018 05:55 PM
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I'm still not convinced Assad did this. What does he have to gain from gassing his own people especially since he was winning the civil war?

Next question. What will be the Russian response? They still claim there will be "serious consequences".


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161426
04/14/2018 01:51 AM
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Russia Responds: “We Are Being Threatened. A Predesigned Scenario Is Being Implemented”

“The worst apprehensions have come true. Our warnings have been left unheard.”

Zero Hedge - April 14, 2018


After the a joint force of US, French and UK fighter jets and ship launched an attack which as Mattis said, “used a little over double the number of weapons this year than we used last year”, and amid unconfirmed reports that the Syrian air force managed to shoot down one or more Tomahawk missiles, the question everyone was asking is whether Russia has responded, and if so, how.

The answer, for now at least, is that Russia has not activated a response, although that may soon change. Here is the statement from Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anataloy Antonov, posted on Facebook:

The worst apprehensions have come true. Our warnings have been left unheard.

A pre-designed scenario is being implemented. Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences.

All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris.

Insulting the President of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible.

The U.S. – the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons – has no moral right to blame other countries.

Despite repeated warnings from Russia, President Trump ordered American forces, along with their British and French allies, to strike military targets in Syria on Friday night; as noted previously, during a press conference late on Friday, General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Russian military operating in Syria was not notified about the American targets in advance told reporters following the attacks.

The US “specifically identified” targets to “mitigate the risk of Russian forces being involved,” Dunford said. “We used the normal deconfliction channel to deconflict airspace. We did not coordinate targets.”

While Trump said that the purpose of the US actions is to “establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread, and use of chemical weapons,” Antonov reminded that “the US – the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons – has no moral right to blame other countries.”

The combined decision by the US and its allies to strike Syria comes after Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Major-General Igor Konashenkov presented evidence claiming that last Saturday’s alleged chemical attack in Douma was orchestrated.

The attack also comes just hours before experts from the UN Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were scheduled to visit Douma on Saturday to determine whether chemical weapons had indeed been used there. That particular trip is now moot.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161427
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Quote
Originally posted by ConSigCor:
...The attack also comes just hours before experts from the UN Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were scheduled to visit Douma on Saturday to determine whether chemical weapons had indeed been used there. That particular trip is now moot.
That's sort of an eyebrow-raiser, isn't it?

If there is one good thing to come from this, it's that it's nice to see someone call Putin's bluff. The Russian economy is in shambles and their military is no match for ours. Maybe now all of his tin-pot "allies" will realize he really is the emperor with no clothes.

Onward and upward,
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Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161428
04/15/2018 06:48 PM
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Putin: Further Western Strikes Contrary To Int’l Law Will Lead To Chaos

Russia has vowed to retaliate if Syria’s sovereignty violated

Sputnik - April 15, 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani discussed the situation in Syria after a massive missile strike was conducted by the US, Britain and France against the country.

Putin and his Iranian counterpart agreed that the US-led illegal airstrike on Syria seriously damages the prospects for a political settlement in the country.

“Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed that if such actions, carried out in violation of the UN Charter, continue, it will inevitably lead to chaos in international relations,” the press service of the Kremlin said.

In a phone conversation that took place on the initiative of the Iranian side, the two presidents also discussed general situation in the Middle East region, including the situation in Yemen.

Putin and Rouhani expressed interest in the further development of the Russian-Iranian cooperation and expansion of mutually beneficial relations in trade and economic sphere.

Early on Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced the military action in Syria in response to the alleged chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. As a result, Washington and its allies – France and the United Kingdom — fired missiles on the Syrian facilities, which they claimed were linked with chemical weapons production.


US to impose sanctions on Russia in wake of Syrian chemical attack

By Julia Manchester - 04/15/18

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Nikki Haley announced on Sunday the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Russia following the deadly suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria last week.

"Russia sanctions will be coming down. [Treasury] Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin will be announcing those on Monday if he hasn't already, and they will be going directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to [Syrian leader Bashar] Assad and chemical weapons use," Haley told CBS News's Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation."

"So I think everyone is going to be feeling it at this point. I think everyone knows that we sent a strong message, and our hope is that they listen to us," she said.

The sanctions are designed to hit Russia for its support for the Assad government after last week's apparent chemical attack on Syrian civilians.

Assad and Russia have denied involvement in the attack.

The U.S., along with France and the U.K., launched over 100 missiles at three targets in Syria on Friday in response to the attack.

Russia, in turn, proposed a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council aimed at condemning “the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic by the U.S. and its allies in violation of international law and the U.N. Charter.”

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday voted against the proposal.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161429
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German President Calls for End of Demonizing Russia

We cannot declare Russia and its people to be an enemy, he says

RT - April 16, 2018

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for ending the demonization of Russia and its people on Sunday. He added that Germany should do more to help de-escalate tensions, given his country’s unique history with Russia.

Steinmeier warned that the US-led airstrikes in Syria in the early hours of Saturday morning raised the risk of direct confrontation between US and Russian forces operating in the Syrian theater. Relations between the US and Russia have hit a post-Cold War low after the attack, which followed the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, last week. The Syrian regime has denied allegations that it gassed its own people, particularly in an area where, and a time when, its forces were on the brink of total victory.

“We are at the next step of escalation in the Russian-American relationship,” Steinmeier told Bild. “Regardless of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, we cannot declare Russia as a whole, the country and its people, to be an enemy,” he said. “Our history speaks against it, and there is too much at stake.”

Even before the alleged Douma gas attack, Russo-Western relations were tense in the aftermath of the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, England, on March 4. The UK prime minister declared it was “highly likely” that Russia was behind the poisoning, citing a lack of “plausible alternative explanation” and the purported Soviet origin of the chemical agent used. For its part, Moscow has vehemently denied any involvement in the poisoning and decried the total lack of transparency in the case. Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko said it was possible that London was destroying evidence that could exonerate Russia.

Steinmeier described the Skripal row as “a very serious incident.”

“The galloping alienation between Russia and the West must also concern us, with consequences that will go far beyond this case. There is practically no basis of trust any more.”

Speaking about the Syrian conflict overall, Steinmeier said it is too important for petty point-scoring politics to prevent a real solution, adding that estrangement between the West and Russia is, “the real challenge for responsible politics.”

“Of course, you can’t do it without the regional neighbors in the end, but everything begins with the US and Russia,” he was quoted as saying. “Putin and Trump owe it to the world to take the first step.”

However, Steinmeier’s comments come in stark contrast to the sentiments expressed by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas Sunday. Mass criticized Russia for what he “has to assume” was its involvement in a December cyber attack against his own Foreign Ministry. Both Steinmeier and Maas are Social Democrats, but Maas has adopted a far tougher stance on Russia than any of his predecessors.

“We had an attack on the Foreign Ministry where we have to assume that it stemmed from Russia,” he told the German broadcaster ZDF. “We can’t just wish all that away … And I think it’s not only reasonable but necessary to point out that we do not view those as constructive contributions.”

Mass also decried Moscow’s alleged role in the Skripal case, its apparent failure to implement a lasting ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, its supposed meddling in Western elections and its ongoing support for the Syrian government.

“What I said is just what it is. I just described the reality. We have Ukraine. The peace process there goes no further. We have had that Skripals [case]. We saw Russian organizations influencing elections in the West. One cannot just pretend that nothing of these happened. Unfortunately, this is reality. I regard it not just as malignant, I believe it is necessary to point out that we do not see it as constructive behavior.”

“It is time, I think, to point out that we expect constructive contributions from the Russian side, including on the Syrian conflict. And also that they don’t always simply protect (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad,” Maas concluded.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161430
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New US Strikes in Syria Will Provoke a Tougher Response – Moscow

“The US tries to undermine the credibility the Fact-finding mission in Syria even before it arrives at Douma.”

Sputnik - April 16, 2018

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has refuted claims of the UK delegation to the OPCW that Russia and Syria denied access to the organization’s mission to Syria’s Douma.

Ryabkov further noted that these were the consequences of the US airstrikes in Syria that hampered the efforts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to probe the alleged attack in Douma.

The words of the senior official revoiced the statement of the Russian embassy in the Netherlands that said earlier in the day that the US was attempting to undermine the work of the OPCW that was set to start the probe into the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma the same day, the US, the UK and France launched a missile attack on Syria.

“The US tries to undermine the credibility the Fact-finding mission in Syria even before it arrives at Douma. Russia confirms its commitment to ensure [safety] and security of the mission and will not interfere in its work,” the Russian embassy in the Netherlands said on Monday.

Live from the @OPCW: the US tries to undermine the credibility the Fact-finding mission in Syria 🇸🇾 even before it arrives at Douma. Russia 🇷🇺 confirms its commitment to ensure safe and security of the mission and will not interfere in its work. pic.twitter.com/XFQ5x9anj5

— RussianEmbassyNL (@rusembassynl) April 16, 2018

New strikes by the United States and the coalition on Syria will lead to a harsher reaction on the part of those who advocate respect for international law, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters Monday.

“If something like this [recent shelling of Syria] happens in the future it will only increase the disengagement of healthy forces in the international community. I am convinced that other groups will join the group of countries having a responsible attitude toward international law,” Ryabkov said.And that group of healthy forces, I am convinced, will give a more and more resolute political rebuff to such attempts on the basis of international relations,” he said when asked what Russia’s reaction will be if more attacks on Syria follow.

Ryabkov said Russia was guided by statements on the part of some Western countries’ representatives that the US-led coalition has no current plans to continue attacks on Syria.

OPCW Mission in Douma

Earlier in the day, the UK delegation to the OPCW said Monday that Russia and Syria had not yet allowed access to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ mission to Douma.

“OPCW arrived in Damascus on Saturday. Russia & Syria have not yet allowed access to Douma. Unfettered access essential. Russia & Syria must cooperate,” the delegation said in a tweet.

#OPCW Director Gen briefs Exec Council on his Fact Finding Mission’s deployment to 🇸🇾 to investigate #Douma chem weapon attack. OPCW arrived in Damascus on Saturday. Russia & Syria have not yet allowed access to Douma. Unfettered access essential. Russia & Syria must cooperate.

— UK Delegation OPCW (@UK_OPCW) April 16, 2018

According to the UK delegation, the OPCW director general has briefed the Executive Council on the Fact-Finding Mission’s deployment to Syria to investigate the alleged chemical attack.

Speaking further, UK Permanent Representative at the OPCW Peter Wilson said that Syrian military was the only one which could have carried out the alleged chemical attack in the city of Duma, no other group could have done this.

“Open source accounts allege a barrel bomb was used to deliver the chemicals, and a regime helicopter was seen above Douma on the evening of 7 April. The Opposition does not operate helicopters or use barrel bombs. Reliable intelligence indicates that Syrian military officials coordinated what appears to be the use of chlorine in Douma on 7 April. No other group could have carried out this attack,” Wilson said.

Wilson accused Russia of “spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation” in order to undermine the integrity of the OPCW fact-finding mission investigating the Duma incident.

“Russia has argued that the attack on Douma was somehow staged, or faked. They have even suggested that the UK was behind the attack. That is ludicrous,” he added.

The envoy noted that the legal basis of the Western strikes was clear and required certain conditions to be met, including evidence of a large-scale humanitarian suffering in need for urgent relief and lack of an alternative to the use of force.

“The objective of our military action was specifically the prevention of further use of chemical weapons in order to alleviate humanitarian suffering. It was not about interfering in a civil war. And it was not about regime change,” the envoy noted.

The OPCW is holding a special session on Monday, discussing the recent escalation of the situation in Syria.

Last Saturday, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom launched strikes on a number of targets in Syria in response to an alleged chemical attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the three countries fired over 100 cruise and air-to-surface missiles, most of which were shot down by Syrian air defenses.The attack came the same day that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) mission was set to start the probe into the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, which the West had immediately blamed on Damascus.

Following the accusations, the Syrian government has strongly denied being behind the alleged attack and stated that the missile strike was “brutal aggression.”


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161431
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Moscow Claims ‘Irrefutable’ Evidence Syria Chemical Attack a False Flag

OPCW inspectors were denied access to site?

Joe Jankowski | Infowars.com - April 16, 2018

Moscow is claiming to have evidence that the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria was a false flag.

The Russian envoy to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Monday that there is “irrefutable proof” that the chemical incident in the Syrian town of Douma was a “false-flag attack” orchestrated by UK security services with support from elements of the United States.

“We have not just a ‘high level of confidence,’ as our Western partners uniformly put it; we have irrefutable proof that there was no chemical attack in Douma on April 7,” Russia’s Ambassador to the OPCW Aleksandr Shulgin said at a special meeting of the UN chemical watchdog.

Shulgin added that the incident had been a “pre-planned false-flag attack by the British security services, which could have also been aided by their allies in Washington.”

The Russian Ambassadors words come as OPCW inspectors have been denied access to Douma to investigate the recent suspected chemical attack.

According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the OPCW team’s arrival was hampered by the weekend air strikes by the United States, France, and Britain.

Charges against Britain for staging the chemical attack were also pressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday when he told reporters that, “we have irrefutable evidence that this was another staged event.”

Lavrov pointed the finger at the UK by saying that “the secret services of a certain state that is now at the forefront of a Russophobic campaign was involved in this staged event.”

While it is unclear what the “irrefutable proof” actually is, the Ministry of Defense of Russia has already released what could be considered evidence that the attack was staged.

On April 13, the Russian Defense ministry released a video showing testimonies of two doctors who were on duty at a Duma hospital when the alleged chemical attack took place in the Syrian town on April 7.

The Duma doctors said that the hospital received several civilians who had been injured in an airstrike of the Syrian Arab Air Force on Duma in the morning of April 8, but those people had shown no signs of being affected by chemicals.

According to one doctor, it was while treating these people is when a man shouted in the hospital’s emergency room that the injuries were caused by “a chemical attack.”

“While treating the people who were suffocated by smoke and dust, one of the people who was present said that the strike was a chemical attack, which led the people in the area [hospital] to deal with the cases as injuries caused by chemical weapons.” Dr. al-Jaysh said in the video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Despite the panic caused by the shouting man, the doctors stressed in the video that there had been no symptoms proving chemical weapons use.

Both the White House and state department announced on Friday that the US had “a high level of confidence” about the Assad regime’s culpability for the use of poisonous gas in Douma.

The UK has also denied all Russian claims that the attack was staged.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161432
04/17/2018 05:32 AM
04/17/2018 05:32 AM
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Trump\'s Disastrous Syrian Attack. A new article by Ron Paul at the Mises Institute.

Quote
Over the weekend, President Trump celebrated firing more than 100 missiles into Syria by Tweeting, “Mission Accomplished!” They say if you cannot learn from history you are condemned to repeat it. So I guess we are repeating it.

We all remember that “Mission Accomplished” was the banner behind then-President Bush as he gloated aboard a US navy ship that the war in Iraq had been won. After his “victory,” however, some 4,000 US military personnel were killed, perhaps a million Iraqis were killed, and the country’s infrastructure and social fabric were so badly destroyed that they probably can never be repaired.

Actually, there is much about the US attack on Syria that reminds us of Iraq.

With Iraq, the US moved in to start bombing before international inspectors had completed their mission to verify whether or not Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Had they been allowed to complete their mission and verify that he did not, imagine the suffering, death, and destruction that could have been avoided. In Syria, the US decided to start bombing before the international inspectors were even allowed to start checking claims that Assad gassed his own people in Douma. Why? What was the rush? Was Washington afraid they might not find Assad guilty?

Who really benefits from US attacks on the Syrian government? There were reports that ISIS began making moves immediately after the air strikes. Do we really want to be al-Qaeda and ISIS’s airforce? Is that going to keep us safer? I remember when al-Qaeda was actually considered our enemy, not an ally in overthrowing the last secular government in the Middle East.

Will Syria’s Christians be better off after the recent US attack? Just over a week ago Christians celebrated Easter in Aleppo for the first time in years. What changed? The Syrian army kicked out al-Qaeda, which had been occupying the eastern part of the city. So no, Christians will be much worse off if our “moderate terrorists” take control of Syria.

If Syria really had sarin and other chemical weapons factories, does it make sense for the US to bomb the buildings and risk killing thousands by widely disbursing the poisons? Does it make sense to risk killing Syrian civilians with chemical weapons in retaliation for allegations that the Syrian government killed civilians with chemical weapons? No, it seems more like the phony “mobile WMD labs” we were told that Saddam Hussein had constructed.

If the US knew Syria was manufacturing chemical weapons in the buildings they bombed, why not notify the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)? The OPCW had certified the very building the US bombed as chemical weapons free not that long ago. Why not just call them up and ask them to check it out? After all, they were just arriving in the country as the US started bombing.

There are many more questions about President Trump’s terrible decision to again make war on Syria. For example, where is Congress? It was disgraceful to see Speaker Paul Ryan telling the President he needs no Congressional authorization to attack Syria. All Members of Congress take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and the Constitution says that only Congress can declare war. Does that oath mean nothing these days?

President Trump will come to regret the day he let the neocons take over his foreign policy. Their track record is abysmal. His attack on Syria was clearly illegal and should his party lose the House in November he may find his new fair-weather friends in the Democratic Party quickly turning foul.
Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161433
04/19/2018 03:05 AM
04/19/2018 03:05 AM
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Syrian Boy Claims He Was Recruited to Stage Chemical Attack Boy claims he was grabbed, doused in water and filmed

A Syrian boy claims he unwittingly participated in faking a chemical weapons attack in Douma, which prompted a coalition airstrike from British, French and US forces last week.

In an interview released by Russia 24 TV Wednesday, Hassan Diab recalls being lured to a local hospital where he was grabbed by unknown people, doused in water and filmed.

Watch: https://youtu.be/NwK_nQmgaCg

“We were in the basement. Mom told me that today we don’t have anything to eat and that we will eat tomorrow. We heard a cry outside, calling ‘go to the hospital.’ We ran to the hospital and as soon as I entered, they grabbed me and started pouring water on me,” Diab said, according to a translation from Sputnik News.

Diab appears fine in the interview with no evidence or symptoms indicating he suffered a recent chemical attack.

Нашли мальчика, которого 7 апреля заставили участвовать в инсценировке в больнице Думы. «Расплатились» финиками и печеньем. Подробности скоро на сайте КП. pic.twitter.com/rUfLslD805

— Александр Коц (@sashakots) April 18, 2018

The boy’s father told KP.ru journalist Alexander Kots that he did not believe there were any chemical weapons, and that oblivious participants, including his son, were later fed snacks at the hospital.

“There were no chemical weapons. I smoked outside and felt nothing. I entered the hospital and saw my family. Militants gave them dates, cookies and rice for participating in this film and released everyone to their homes,” Diab’s father said.

Наше видео с места инсценировки последствий химической атаки в Думе. Один из ее невольных участников и местный доктор рассказали, что там происходило на самом деле. Текстовый репортаж тут: https://m.kp.ru/daily/26821.4/3857796/

Posted by Александр Коц on Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Side-by-side comparison photos were created after some claimed on social media that the boy in the video was not Diab.

[img]https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...e326f39c1cd11bf546e1a76b56d1&oe=5B6D0346[/img]

The al-Qaeda affiliated White Helmets non-governmental organization has frequently been accused of staging attacks on civilians to blame the Bashar Al Assad regime.

The boy’s testimony comes as neocons pressure President Trump to continue a military campaign started last Friday, where coalition forces launched missile strikes at specific targets in Damascus.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Syrian Gas Attack #161434
05/04/2018 02:52 AM
05/04/2018 02:52 AM
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US ‘Freezes Funding’ For White Helmets as Group’s Chem Attack Claim Falls Apart

State Dept. conducting active review of terror-linked group

RT - May 4, 2018

As the reputation of the controversial militant-linked White Helmets continues to crumble, even the US State Department seems to be having second thoughts about supporting the group, reportedly placing a freeze on its funding.

The State Department’s support for the White Helmets is “under active review,” according to a CBS News report. The group reportedly hasn’t received funding in weeks, but neither has it received formal confirmation that Washington’s financial assistance has come to a complete halt. This would mean a significant blow for the group, as the money accounts for about one-third of the White Helmets’ overall funding.

An internal State Department document cited by CBS said that its Near East Bureau needed confirmation from President Donald Trump’s administration by April 15 in order to approve funding for the White Helmets. If that wasn’t received, the department would initiate “shut-down procedures on a rolling basis.”

Online reaction to the report has been mixed, with some continuing to hail the work of the White Helmets. Among them was Samantha Power, the former US ambassador to the UN.

The former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, also took to Twitter to say that he has donated to the White Helmets in the past and “will do so again.”

Meanwhile, Middle East political writer and commentator Marwa Osman took an entirely different approach towards the group which many hail as heroes. She referred to the White Helmets as “Al-Qaeda terrorists.”

The report comes amid major controversy surrounding the White Helmets, after residents of Douma, Syria, testified in The Hague at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The hearing centered on the alleged chemical attack that was used as a justification for the April 14 strikes by the US, Britain, and France.

In a press conference following the hearing, hospital staff and 11-year-old Hassan Diab – who is seen in troubling White Helmets footage following the alleged attack – said there was no sign of a chemical incident at the time and that the White Helmets’ video with children was apparently staged.

The footage, which showed Diab and other children being hosed down with water, was the only publicly available “evidence” that the attack ever took place. Still, Trump and his British and French counterparts deemed it sufficient proof to launch over 100 missiles on Syria on April 14, accusing the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad of being behind the alleged attack. The three allies were so keen to bomb Syria that they refused to wait for the results of an OPCW investigation before doing so.

If the report from CBS News is true, it could represent a significant U-turn for Washington. Just last month, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert called the group “an incredible group of individuals.” At that time, she also stated that as far as she was aware, the White Helmets were still being paid by Washington, despite a $200-million freeze in US funding for recovery efforts in Syria in late March.

Although the White Helmets says it acts solely as a makeshift emergency response team in a time of crisis, claiming to have heroically saved more than 70,000 lives in war-torn Syria, others disagree with its motives. Footage from Syria repeatedly showed members of the White Helmets assisting jihadist groups, while multiple accounts from civilians suggested they only helped “their own” and used civilians caught in the battle only for publicity. Russia has stated that the Douma “chemical attack” was staged by the White Helmets, with the UK pressuring the group to “speed up the provocation.”

The group has enjoyed celebrity status in the West, with a documentary praising it even winning an Oscar. However, some artists have refused to give in to peer pressure and publicly spoke out against endorsing the shady group. Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters recently lambasted White Helmets at a concert in Barcelona, calling the group a “fake organization that exists only to create propaganda for jihadists and terrorists.” His remark came after emails emerged showing that the White Helmets tried to lobby Waters with Saudi money.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861

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