Ugly Face of a Syrian Massacre, Some Doubts Remain [Update]

18 Comments

1. 

   Oui on August 23, 2013 at 1:50 pm

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   Russia backs UN probe of Syria attack

   (Al Jazeera) – Russia has said it had told Syria to cooperate with UN experts investigating reports of a deadly chemical weapons attack that is believed to have killed hundreds, and called on rebels to allow access to the area.

   Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his US counterpart John Kerry in a phone call that immediately after the reports first emerged about the attack on Wednesday, the “Russian side called on the Syrian government to cooperate with the UN chemical experts,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

   “It is now up to the opposition to ensure safe access for the mission to the site of the alleged incident,” the statement from Syria’s strongest ally said. It said both Lavrov and Kerry agreed on the need for an “objective investigation” into what happened.

   As horrible as the images are of victims of an aleged “nerve gas” attack coming from the rebel side in Syria, some doubts remain.

2. 

   Oui on August 24, 2013 at 4:27 am

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   I just can’t get my head around, Assad would end his own regime by using a nerve gas attack on a Damascus suburb, 2 miles away from the UN Inspection team. As horrible as the video images are, the peace and quiet of photo images of the children are eerie. Why are the faces still colored roze, why are they not very pale as death has supposedly taken these lives?

   Rigor Mortis and Other Postmortem Changes

    « click for article

   The blood begins to settle in the parts of the body that are the closest to the ground, usually the buttocks and back when a corpse is supine. The skin, normally pink-colored because of the oxygen-laden blood in the capillaries, becomes pale as the blood drains into the larger veins. Within minutes to hours after death, the skin is discolored by livor mortis, or what embalmers call “postmortem stain,” the purple-red discoloration from blood accumulating in the lowermost (dependent) blood vessels. Immediately after death, the blood is “unfixed” and will move to other body parts if the body’s position is changed. After a few hours, the pooled blood becomes “fixed” and will not move. Pressing on an area of discoloration can determine this; if it blanches (turns white) easily, then the blood remains unfixed.

   CDC: Immediate signs and symptoms of sarin exposure

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     Oui on August 24, 2013 at 1:57 pm

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     By careful study, these bodies do show post-mortem signs: a clear discoloring in reddish/purple. I searched the Internet and found two other sources of a photo taken from the same room and later in the day, see link below.

     Pictures Of The Alleged Chemical Attack In Damascus Suburbs [PHOTOS
     by Luke Villapaz on August 21 2013 11:01 AM [time zone??]

     (IB Times) – On Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces allegedly launched a chemical gas attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,300 people near Damascus, Syria, according to a Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition. An authoritative number of casualties has been difficult to report as demonstrated by the wide range of casualty numbers being reported by various sources. The claim of chemical weapon attacks and the number of casualties could not be independently verified. However, several photos surfaced of the aftermath of the attack, which can be viewed below.

      « click for article Libération (Fr)
     In a building of Ghouta, area targeted by the gas attack, according to the opposition. (Photo Reuters/Mohamed Abdullah)

     Russia suggests Syria ‘chemical attack’ was ‘planned provocation’ by rebels

     (Russia Today) – The Syrian government has no information regarding opposition forces using chemical weapons in the Damascus area, the country’s information minister told RT Arabic. Omran Al-Zoubi mentioned that the pro-Assad army has suffered no losses because of such weapons. He did not rule out, however, that the poisonous substances could have been used against civilians – as was the case in the Khan al-Assal incident outside Aleppo, in which over 30 people died. In Al-Zoubi’s opinion, the goal of Wednesday’s “collateral” reports about the alleged chemical attack by government forces was to undermine the work of UN investigators who arrived in Syria after receiving a request from Damascus.

      « click for more
     A view shows bodies of children whom activists say were killed by gas attack in the Ghouta area,
in the eastern suburbs of Damascus August 21, 2013. (Reuters/Mohamed Abdullah)

     Images on Internet linked to Reuters/Mohamed Abdullah

     • Syrians retrieve “sleeping” dead after alleged chemical attack
3. 

   Oui on August 24, 2013 at 5:30 am

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   Mixing the chemicals of war in Syria

   (Gulf News) Dec. 6, 2012 – Is Syrian President Bashar Al Assad desperate enough to use chemical weapons on his own people? Or are claims that the weapons are being mixed and readied for use on aircraft a ploy to lay the groundwork for full-scale military intervention in Syria?

   Only top officials and the regime’s closest officials in the presidential palace in Damascus know the true answer and intent. But the reality is that the threat of chemical weapons — on questionable intelligence reports delivered dramatically by Colin Powell to the UN — was enough to spur the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

   US President Barack Obama issued an explicit warning to President Al Assad on using chemical weapons — coinciding with press reports from an unnamed US official that the Syrian regime had begun mixing the chemicals required to make sarin nerve gas.

   Within some 24 hours a second, different official was quoted by NBC News as insisting that there was in fact no evidence that the Syrian military had begun to mix the precursor chemicals needed to produce the deadly nerve agent.

   Months of warnings, speculation swirl around Syria’s chemical weapons

   Syrians fear false flag Sarin Gas Attack as USA Preparing Chemical Weapons Media Hoax

   • BREAKING NEWS: Syria Crossed Obama’s Red Line [June 13th, 2013]
   • CW Experts Skeptical About US Claim Use of Sarin Gas by Syria [June 15th, 2013]
   • Bilad al-Sham: Jihad’s Newest Hot Spot [June 15th, 2013]
4. 

   Oui on August 24, 2013 at 5:57 am

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   There is NO conclusive evidence Assad’s forces used sarin gas causing the deaths of 100-150 persons. None of the earlier propaganda video’s and statements from rebels claimed this number of deaths. Pinocchio award range 5.

    « click for story
   Colin Powell holding a model vial of anthrax at UN Security Council (Wikipedia)

   U.N. cautious about French claims Syrian forces used nerve gas

   UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) June 5, 2013 – U.N. investigators reacted cautiously to France’s announcement that laboratory tests proved that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had used nerve gas in Syria’s civil war, saying it was vital to know the chain of custody of the samples.

   Paris handed the results to the U.N. chemical weapons investigation team, headed by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom. “Mr. Sellstrom cautions that the validity of the information is not ensured in the absence of convincing evidence of the chain-of-custody of the data collected.”

   The White House also reacted cautiously to the French announcement, saying the United States was not ready to say the Syrian government used chemical weapons in the war-ravaged country.

   Russia warns US against repeating Iraq war mistake

   • Syrian Opposition Rebels Caught with Sarin Gas in Turkey
   • Arming Syrian Fighters is a Travesty of Reality – Feb. 2012
   • Hafez al-Assad never used gas warfare in Hama (1982)
5. 

   Oui on August 24, 2013 at 6:27 am

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   Iran’s Rohani says chemical weapons killed people in Syria

   (Haaretz) Aug. 24, 2013 – Iranian President Hassan Rohani acknowledged for the first time chemical weapons had killed people in ally Syria and called for the international community to prevent their use. Rohani stopped short of saying who had used the arms – Tehran has previously accused Syrian rebels of being behind what it called suspected chemical attacks.

   He also did not mention the international furor around Syrian opposition reports that forces loyal to the Damascus government killed as many as 1,000 civilians with poison gas in suburbs of Damascus on Wednesday.

   “Many of the innocent people of Syria have been injured and martyred by chemical agents and this is unfortunate,” recently elected Rohani was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

   “We completely and strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons. The Islamic Republic gives notice to the international community to use all its might to prevent the use of these weapons anywhere in the world, especially in Syria.”

   Blog at the Muqata: Iran’s Hassan Rohani is just as Moderate as Syria’s Bashar al-Assad

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     Shaun Appleby on August 24, 2013 at 6:45 am

     Rohani called on the international community to prevent their use without reiterating that it was the rebels which had perpetrated the attack? Most interesting, don’t you think?

     • 

       Oui on August 24, 2013 at 8:08 am

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       It was an article in Haaretz, makes a difference as the US/Israel/Jordan/Turkey are preparing a military intervention to capture and remove Assad’s BW and CW potential with special forces combined with a pre-emptive cruise missile attack. Don’t make an interpretation of what Rohani didn’t say! The Israelis love to use that type of propaganda. See my new comment.

6. 

   Shaun Appleby on August 24, 2013 at 6:39 am

   And with all the usual strong caveats regarding the likelihood of disinformation and hidden agendas, Debka has provided a narrative developing over the past few days where the chemical attack is a direct consequence of new incursions by American and Jordanian trained and led insurgents since August 17th. Now they have supplemented this story with alleged details of the origin of the chemical attack in an effort to force the hand of Western governments.

   A word of warning about Debka, they clearly have a pro-Israeli neo-conservative agenda and sometimes provide very dubious reports; on the other hand from time-to-time they seem to provide unusually detailed and accurate information long before the Western media. The problem is figuring our which is which in any given instance.

   As a rule I discount much of their reporting but having said that it is also sometimes worth following up their allegations as they often contain certain details not reported elsewhere.

7. 

   Oui on August 24, 2013 at 8:05 am

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   Tehran, Moscow call for peaceful solution to Syria crisis

   (Press.tv) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov have underlined the need for a peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis through political means.

   In a telephone conversation on Thursday, the two ministers strongly condemned any use of chemical weapons by terrorists in Syria and expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the Arab country.

   Iran’s Rouhani strongly condemns chemical weapons use

   (Press.tv) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons, urging the international community to spare no effort in preventing the use of such arms in all parts of the world, particularly in Syria.

   The government in Damascus says Takfiris have used chemical weapons on several occasions, including an attack in the region of Khan al-Assal in Aleppo Province on March 19, where over two dozen people died. A Russian-led inquiry confirmed that the militants operating in Syria had carried out the chemical attack in Khan al-Assal.

   On August 21, the militants in Syria alleged that 1,300 people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.

   However, the Syrian government vehemently dismissed the claim, saying the new accusations were fabricated to distract a visiting team of UN chemical weapons experts and to cover up militants’ losses.  

   The Iranians and the Shia press refer to the butcher jihadists of Al-Nusra Front, Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya and Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham as Takfiris. See the recent beheadings of Syrian Catholic priest Father François Murad 49, and two of his assistants. A came across a strange link between Takfiris and a Frenchman Alexis Carrel (1873-1944).

8. 

   Oui on August 24, 2013 at 8:17 am

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   Two days ago I did write a long essay with a suggestion for peace and an end the perpetual wars in the Middle-East.

   US/Russia Should Lead – A Yalta Conference on Middle East
    

9. 

   Oui on August 24, 2013 at 9:00 am

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   The White House knew of the Halabja massacre. The intelligence community blamed it on Iran. Remember that pesky war Saddam Hussein started to expand his territory. Khomeini uses the war to cement his power and the Islamic state of Iran. Thanking Ronald Reagan and George H. Bush. How many Iranians died due to Saddam’s use of chemical warfare, didin’t the CIA supply the intelligence from our satellites to target the Iranians. The Ugly American.

   Halabja: the politics of memory

   (Open Democracy) – Within a week of the attack, the United States department of state, basing itself on information provided by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), claimed that Iran had also used poison gas in Halabja. This information created enough confusion that the United Nations Security Council delayed a resolution for two months and then condemned both sides for using chemical weapons. The DIA’s account was augmented two years later by a former CIA analyst, Stephen Pelletiere, who suggested, using the same DIA data, that the majority of Halabja casualties had been victims of Iran’s use of gas. Pelletiere has repeated his claim on numerous occasions, but has never presented any evidence in addition to the vague speculations made by the DIA at the time (see Stephen C Pelletiere, “A War Crime or an Act of War?”, New York Times, 31 January 2003).

   United States support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war

   Cross-posted from BooMan’s fp story – No Imagination.

   I know that many hundreds (at least) of Syrians died in an attack that appears to have been chemical in nature, but I still cringe when I read stuff like the following in the New York Times:

   “Among American officials, there was a growing belief that chemical weapons had been used in the latest attack, early Wednesday east of Damascus — potentially the worst of its kind since Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against the Kurds in Iraq in the 1980s — and little doubt that anyone but Mr. Assad’s forces would have used them.”

   ○ US Support for Saddam and Chemical Ali  by Oui on Jan. 25, 2010

10. 

    Oui on August 24, 2013 at 9:13 am

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     « click for BBC story
    'Chemical attack': What we know

11. 

    Oui on August 24, 2013 at 2:29 pm

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    Syria will let UN inspectors probe chemical attack: FM Muallem

    (Press.tv) – Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem says Damascus will provide the UN team with access to the site of the recent alleged chemical attack in the country. In a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Saturday, Muallem added that his respective country has cooperated with the UN team of chemical experts present in the country.

    He added that Damascus is now holding talks with the UN inspectors on the access to the site of the alleged chemical attack. Muallem categorically rejected the allegation that the Damascus government has used chemical weapons, describing the claim as a new ploy by the enemies of the Syrian government and nation.

    Syrian rebels use toxic chemicals against govt troops near Damascus – state media

    • 3,600 patients with neurotoxic symptoms in Damascus hospital, 355 fatalities – Doctors Without Borders
    • SOHR gives breakdown of 322 dead in Syria ‘toxic gas’ attacks: 136 women and children
    • British FM Hague says Syria perpetrated chemical attack on Ghouta
    • French FM Fabius says Syria behind chemical attack
12. 

    Oui on August 24, 2013 at 7:08 pm

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    An illustration of difficulty to distinguish between evidence and forgeries searching the Internet. A strange case from December 24, 2012.

    Damages for firm over Syria claims

    (Independent.ie) June 26, 2013 – A British-based defence company has accepted substantial libel damages over a claim of involvement in a chemical weapons plot in Syria.

    Britam Defence Limited, its business development director David Goulding and founder and chief operating officer Philip Doughty brought an action in London’s High Court over an article on the Mail Online website in January this year.

    Their solicitor-advocate, Adam Tudor, told Mrs Justice Nicola Davies that it focused on internal emails at Britam Defence, which the story said had been hacked from Britam’s computer system and published on the internet. [statement]

    …
    In fact, he added, the emails in question were forgeries. They were not written or sent by the claimants – or by anyone at Britam or associated with them – and the illegal hacking of the company’s website remained the subject of a criminal investigation. “The claimants had no involvement in any chemical weapons plot and would never contemplate becoming involved in the heinous activities which were the subject of the article.”

    Mr Tudor said that Associated Newspapers had agreed to pay substantial damages together with legal costs.

    Source: Cyber Wars leaked emails

13. 

    ricky99 on August 29, 2013 at 8:12 am

     The Syrian opposition on Wednesday accused the government of launching a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs that killed large numbers of civilians as they slept and packed makeshift hospitals with hundreds of victims convulsing and gasping for breath.
    The Syrian government strongly denied responsibility. But a White House statement put the blame squarely on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, referring to “reports that hundreds of Syrian civilians have been killed in an attack by Syrian government forces, including by the use of chemical weapons.”

    ————————————————-
    bing seo company

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      Oui on August 29, 2013 at 8:53 am
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        Don Durito on August 29, 2013 at 11:57 am

        Yep.