I’m surprised to see a Russian source even reporting on this, but it appears that the German intelligence service (BND) has concluded that Assad ordered the attack and that it was indeed sarin. They claim to have a damning intercept that bolsters their view.
The BND’s President Gerhard Schindler voiced his support for US allegations Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s government ordered the attack on the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta on August 21, Der Spiegel reported Monday.
The intelligence agency’s chief said that following a thorough analysis his ministry assumes that the regime is the perpetrator of the chemical attack which killed hundreds of people…
…The BND apparently cited new evidence to conclude the agent used was sarin, having intercepted communications between a high level Hezbollah official and Iran’s embassy.
In the tapped call, a doctor described details of patient symptoms specific to exposure to the internationally outlawed gas.
The German intelligence agency was surprised to hear the Hezbollah official saying that Assad had snapped, and had made a big mistake in going through ordering the use of poison gas. The Lebanese militant group has traditionally been viewed as Assad’s ally.
They also believe that the military made a mistake and unintentionally used too much sarin, which lines up with the earliest leaks about intercepts that claimed one commander was demanding an explanation from an underling about why the attack was so large.
Meanwhile, despite Secretary of State John Kerry making the rounds of the Sunday morning shows and claiming that tests had confirmed that sarin was the agent used, the Russians remain unimpressed and publicly unconvinced that the Assad regime is responsible.
“We were shown certain pieces of evidence that did not contain anything concrete, neither geographical locations, nor names, nor evidence that samples had been taken by professionals,” Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov said in a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations…
…“What we were shown before and recently by our American partners, as well as by the British and French, does not convince us at all,” Mr. Lavrov said on Monday. “There are no facts, there is simply talk about ‘what we definitely know.’ But when you ask for more detailed evidence, they say that it is all classified, therefore it cannot be shown to us. This means there are not such facts to encourage international cooperation.”
Meanwhile, the Arab League managed to cobble together a somewhat stronger interventionist stance than they produced initially, although all they really called for were trials for those responsible for the attacks. How that might be accomplished went unsaid.
The administration probably should take their evidence to the United Nations and lay everything on the table and make Russia and China defend doing nothing. Unless, of course, Congress decides that it agrees with Russia and China. In any case, as things stand, Russia feels comfortable denying that we have proof of anything. We shouldn’t hide behind classified information. If we really believe what we’re saying, we should show why we believe it. This is the kind of thing that is worth sacrificing some methods, and perhaps even sources.
As for the latest info, if Assad has truly “snapped,” then his actions would make a lot more sense.
