“The OPCW will evaluate the situation and consider future steps”
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Inspectors have finally reached the site of one of two chemical attacks in Douma, near Syria’s capital Damascus, two weeks after the assaults by the Assad regime.
The nine inspectors from the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had been held up in Damascus for a week, initially by the Assad regime’s obstruction and then by incidents around a UN security team, which encountered an angry crowd, gunfire, and an explosion as it tried to reach the sites on Tuesday.
See Syria Daily, April 19: Inspectors Indefinitely Blocked from Chemical Attack Sites After Gunfire
Syria Daily, April 18: Assad Regime Stalls, Lies About Inspectors’ Visit to Chemical Attack Sites Near Damascus
The OPCW said in a brief statement on Saturday:
The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) visited one of the sites in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic today to collect samples for analysis in connection with allegations of chemical weapons use on 7 April 2018. The OPCW will evaluate the situation and consider future steps including another possible visit to Douma.
The samples collected will be transported to the OPCW Laboratory in Rijswijk [in The Netherlands] and then dispatched for analysis to the OPCW’s designated labs. Based on the analysis of the sample results as well other information and materials collected by the team, the FFM will compile their report for submission to the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention for their consideration.
It is uncertain how much evidence remains for the inspectors. Soon after the attacks, Russian personnel went to the sites and reportedly removed and disturbed material. White Helmets have told the OPCW of the sites of the graves of about 50 victims, with local sources saying that regime and Russian forces have been tried to find the bodies before the OPCW can retrieve them for testing.
Russia has blocked the OPCW from any attribution of responsibility for the attacks.
The return of the OPCW team to Damascus:
OPCW convoy arrives back in Damascus after getting into Douma today to investigate chemical attack #Syria #OPCW pic.twitter.com/Y6MmKxbSBy
— Dan Rivers (@danriversitv) April 21, 2018
About 85 people are believed to have been killed and hundreds wounded by the two attacks, the first with chlorine and the second with chlorine and a stronger agents, with munitions dropped by helicopters of the Assad regime’s air force.
Ignoring the limits they have imposed on the inspectors and the obstructions to their access to Douma, Russia’s Foreign Ministry declared that Russian and regime forces had ensured safe passage for the OPCW group and claimed obstacles were caused by others: “We consider such delays in a notable case like that, for whatever reasons, to be unacceptable, since the security of the OPCW staff was ensured not only by the Syrian side, but also by the command of the Russian military forces in the Syrian Arab Republic.”
German news also confirms the Ghoutta CW attack was staged.
“People told us in a very convincing manner that this whole story was staged,” he told adding that he visited of the refugee camps near Damascus, where “some 20,000 people from Eastern Ghouta and particularly from Douma” had been placed.
https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute-19-uhr/videos/zitat-sgs-gack-syrien-100.html
As noted when Razmjoo also pimped this piece, this German correspondent also claimed confidently — from civilians who in no way would have been giving statements under pressure — that ISIS was behind the staged attack.
The transcript I read referred to militants not ISIS.
Shouldn’t you be installing window shades instead of reading obscure transcripts? You are professional – not windows shade installer, but counter-fact propaganda professional.
German reporter claims the Douma incident was totally staged: https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute-19-uhr/videos/zitat-sgs-gack-syrien-100.html
“People told us in a very convincing manner that this whole story was staged…….the militants brought canisters containing chlorine to the area and actually waited for the Syrian Air Force to bomb the place, which was of particular interest for them. As the Syrian forces eventually struck the place, which was apparently a high-priority military target, the chlorine canisters exploded.” https://www.rt.com/news/424832-douma-attack-german-media/
According to other witness accounts, the militants deliberately exposed people to chemical agents during what they called “training exercises” then filmed it and later presented as an “evidence” of the alleged chemical attack in Douma.
You left out the part where the ZDF correspondent blamed this staging on ISIS — which sums up the reliability of his report.
RT is Putin’s personal website. Fake.
If you want to know what Russian troops think of the pro-Assad militiamen that they’re allied to then this link is quite revealing:
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https://capx.co/assad-is-in-a-weaker-position-than-most-think/
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Excerpt from the above link:
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…”In another interview by the Estonian public broadcaster’s Russian-language channel, a Wagner fighter named Oleg also discusses how it was impossible to get the Syrians to fight – even when the Russians would shoot at their feet. The Russians had to undertake all assaults under Syrian friendly fire and lost staggering amounts of men thanks to regime incompetence. “God forbid one should have such allies,” he said, “because they always fuck up every task. Always.”
I have heard this before from Russian retired military leaders about the regular SAA as well — incompetent and low morale.
I’m not sure why the Russians want to keep underwriting Assad’s offensive endeavors … it doesn’t seem to give them anything that they haven’t already got.
I suppose Putin wants to have a seat at the table when Middle East problems are discussed. Prestige.
Also he likes killing Muslims, and agrees with Assad that they are all terrorists.
In reality, Russia would gain far more prestige if it concentrated on cultural exports. What impresses people about Russia is the music, literature, films, and ballet. Not the cuisine or the air force.
Russia has top notch musical talent in electronic dance music. But very little of that gets marketed to Europe and none to the US.
Putin not only has always had a seat at the table re the Middle East, but is the new sheriff in town.
Also he likes killing Muslims, and agrees with Assad that they are all terrorists.
Not as much as the US, which has killed a million Muslims in Iraq before the war even began. Have you forgotten how Madelaine Albright said the death of 500 thousand Iraqis children was worth it?
Those were UN sanctions, and the US invasion killed about 5,000 non-combatants, about 10% of what Saddam killed in a year.
Those were UN sanctions
No they were US sanctions imposed by a blockade the UN did not support.
The US invasion killed about 250,000 non-combatants directly. The US killed 10,000 in Mosul alone.
The invasion itself led to the deaths of a million. That’s 3 times the number Saddam killed.
The US attack against ISIS in Mosul was sanctioned by the Iraqi government. That is no invasion, and your number of 10,000 civilians killed is bogus. There were not even that many ISIS left in Mosul.
There is no evidence that the US killed 250,000 non-combatants during the invasion. No such massive bombardments or firefights were ever reported. Again, your data comes out of a hat.
Saddam killed about 2 million just in the Iran-Iraq war – equally between the two sides. Then there were other wars like Kuwait and Kurds.
The only tangible thing that the Kremlin gains from the Syrian adventure is to beef up the domestic narrative that the West is out to get Russia and enslave Russians and exploit Russia in their imperialistic capitalistic fascistic conspiracies.
If Russia is not at conflict with the West somewhere in the world, then Putin’s scaremongering about NATO and the West will fall on deaf ears. Putin and the Kremlin needs this faux-nationalism in order to remain in power. They know the Russian economy is a lost cause and Russia is a one-trick pony which is oil & gas. The level of corruption is so high in the Russian economy that there is no way for Putin to salvage the economy even if he tried.
So it is important to keep the “anti-imperialism” narrative alive, so it translates to votes and power, and keeps the domestic opposition at bay. One of Putin’s biggest weapons is to arrest and kill domestic opponents on the pretext that they work for imperialism. Russia needs an enemy, and that has to be the US. Russia cannot engage the US in Ukraine or Crimea – too risky. So best to engage them in Syria.
The only tangible thing that the Kremlin gains from the Syrian adventure is to beef up the domestic narrative that the West is out to get Russia and enslave Russians and exploit Russia in their imperialistic capitalistic fascistic conspiracies.
Wrong as usual. Syria and Russa have been allies for decades and what’s more, Damascus is less than half the distance from Moscow than it is from Washington. Russia were invited,. The US simply invaded and refuses to leave. It is the US that have absolutely no business being there.
If Russia is not at conflict with the West somewhere in the world, then Putin’s scaremongering about NATO and the West will fall on deaf ears.
But what about NATO’s scaremongering about Russia. I always laugh at how NATO supporters keep complaining that Russia’s borders are so close to NATO.
Putin and the Kremlin needs this faux-nationalism in order to remain in power.
Wrong. Nationalism in Russia and Syria has always been strong. The Russian economy is growing in spite of the West’s efforts to destroy it through sanctions, which in fact have only driven the Russians to become more self reliant. Russia is signing trade agreements with China that the US could only dream of.
One of Putin’s biggest weapons is to arrest and kill domestic opponents on the pretext that they work for imperialism.
The US and Britain kill opponents all the time. Just look at David Kelly.
So you admit that Putin kills his opponents. But your story about Kelly is conspiracy theory.
But your story about Kelly is conspiracy theory.
So is the official 911 story. Kelly was clearly murdered by the British government.
Ding-ding-ding. 9-11 Truther Alert.
The fact that Andre is a truther about one of probably the most well documented events in human history despite abundant(to put it mildly) evidence to contrary makes so much sense. He’s walking proof that we need better education in western countries to prevent our citizens from being used as pawns/tools by hostile foreign governments
Sorry to disappoint you Scott, but seeing as 19 hijackers and an untold number of accomplices planned and carried out the 911 attacks, that makes it a conspiracy.
Ah, you’re talking about an actual criminal conspiracy — which is recognized as law and fact — as opposed to conspiracy theory.
Carry on.
The fact that Andre is a truther about one of probably the most well documented events in human history despite abundant(to put it mildly) evidence to contrary makes so much sense.
I am not challenging the official 911 version of events, merely pointing out to people like you that the fact more than one person carried it out makes is a conspiracy.
The russian economy is what ??!!? Growing??? lol. You really are a 2 cents tool.
Yes the Russian economy is growing.
https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-worldbank/consumer-demand-to-drive-russian-gdp-growth-in-2018-world-bank-idUSL8N1NZ1BG
Sorry 🙂
Lol what a tool you are. Hide please.
lol – this is a projection. It is not hard data. For conspiracy theorists like you (Kelly), you do not distinguish with some pundit making a projection and actual facts.
After all the evidence tampering, I’m not sure an inconclusive finding will be satisfying. That’s the problem with the Axis’ approach.
No evidence of tampering has been produced. Even if there were, it is highly doubtful it could have changed the chemical analysis that the OPCW will determine from the samples they have collected.
Regarding attribution of responsibility, the fact that the mandate is solely to determine whether a chemical attack has taken place, means that the OPCW can spend more time in the lab rather than playing police detective which is not what they are trained to be.
Tampering with witnesses is also tampering.
Has OPCW gained access to the gassing victim’s corpses?
You need to have corpses for that to be possible. According to the head physician at the hospital, there were no fatalities that day
False.
From an actual reporter on the ground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=lSXwG-901yU
No, Pearson Sharp is not a reporter — he’s an alt-right, pro-Assad activist for a rather unusual pro-Trump outlet.
Robert Mackey’s takedown is useful here: https://theintercept.com/2018/04/20/russia-sows-doubts-chemical-attack-syria-aided-pro-trump-cable-channel/
If he works for a pro Trump outlet then he would probably have supported the missile strike which Trump had ordered.
No, because a lot of alt-right outlets are also hostile to US “Deep State” and believe that this Deep State pushed Trump into the strikes.
Now your sources are reduced from Twitter to YouTube?
Lol – you saw that huge chlorine canister descending and destroying that room. And you claim no one was killed?
Iran’s UK ambassador: Let’s allow chemical weapons inspectors from the OPCW to do their jobs in Syria https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-chemical-weapons-douma-opcw-us-air-strikes-multilateralism-united-nations-a8314861.html
“In the aftermath of the military move by America and its friends, there is a new concern, which is that if OPCW inspectors cannot find conclusive traces of chemical weapons having been used, the US and its allies will claim that Syria deliberately wiped out the evidence. Although technically speaking chlorine (the gas alleged to have been used in Douma) is a substance which could fade away relatively easily, Sarin, the nerve agent which is also alleged to have been deployed, is quite persistent in the environment and its traces could be collected through environmental sampling.”
Razmjoo – simple question – What is the word for peace (as in war and peace) in Farsi? It starts with ‘S’ and has Arabic roots, and is 3 letters in Arabic script, and 4 letters in Roman script. Ârâmeŝ is not what Iranians use to mean peace.