Kerry's Tainted Syrian Evidence (1 Viewer)

[Steve R.]

Today the Washington Post ran this article: "EU agrees that all indications on Syria chemical attack points to Assad". This article is yet another example of propaganda pushing the concept that Assad is to blame, even if proof cannot be found or otherwise manufactured. Consequently the media, politicians, and pundits focus on how the US should respond rather than the question of the who used the chemical weapons. The public is not being correctly informed by the media.

What I consider critically important with this article, are the last two paragraphs. Which also contain the only identifiable facts in the otherwise misleading article.

"The U.S. blames Assad’s regime for the chemical attack and, citing intelligence reports, says sarin gas was used. The U.S. says 1,429 people died, including 426 children.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects information from a network of anti-regime activists, says it has only been able to confirm 502 dead."

Supporting the findings of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Nation previously reported:

"Days later and we still have no idea where Secretary of State John Kerry got that amazingly precise number of 1,429 killed in the alleged Syria chemical agent attack. He hasn’t cited full sourcing for it or taken questions on that. He merely claims he can’t say because it would “compromise” intelligence, which sounds like utter bull. President Obama also cited the death toll as fact in public statements beating the drums for war.

And all other sources put the number a little or a lot lower. Why does this matter in the current debate? Obviously the higher number, particularly with the also unproven claim of more than 400 dead kids, is meant to sell a US military attack to the American people—and that’s why it’s a key claim. That 1,400 number makes the latest attack seem so much worse than earlier alleged Assad chem attacks, which we did not find horrible enough to claim they crossed the “red line.”

Should the data of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights be correct. Kerry clearly lied. Assuming that Kerry lied, the Obama administration’s chain of logic becomes tainted and needs to be verified before the US takes any action that may prove regrettable.

 

[ColinEssex]

It's a shame that all those innocent children and people were killed by the alleged chemical attack. Plus all those killed by conventional bullets.

I'm sure the Americans will do well when they slam in a dozen or so cruise missiles, they can probably match the death rate on the first strike, that'll make Obama feel better.

Col

 

[nanscombe]

Perhaps they can arrange some friendly fire "accidents" on the more undesirable elements of the rebel forces while they're at it.

 

[Steve R.]

Alan Grayson: ‘They have no smoking gun that the attack was ordered by Assad’. This article raises a point that I find particularly frustrating. We have a (misleading) public narrative based on an apparently false premise. The (misleading) public discussion put forth by the media, politicians, and pundits is that Assad needs to be punished.

But there is a critical step that we logically need to complete before getting to the punishment step. Mr. Grayson points out there is NO smoking gun. The public discussion should be on verifying who used the chemical weapons, not (foaming-at-the-mouth) bombing of Assad into oblivion for something he may not have done.

 

[fortion]

It's a shame that all those innocent children and people were killed by the alleged chemical attack. Plus all those killed by conventional bullets.

I'm sure the Americans will do well when they slam in a dozen or so cruise missiles, they can probably match the death rate on the first strike, that'll make Obama feel better.

Col

This is precisely the thing.....America needs to realise that they are not the policemen of the world....Killing more people to avenge the death of a few is insanity.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I deeply regret the situation of the world that causes people to believe that it needs someone to act as a "policeman" for what ills plague everyone. However, it is even worse when I realize that our own USA citizens and government have forgotten the lessons of history.

We had to suffer, fight, and die for our freedoms. Because of that suffering and death, our freedoms mean more to us than they might otherwise mean. But "giving" freedom to someone doesn't teach them anything or give them a sense of how important it is. The harsh lesson is that if you want something bad enough to die for it, you can often get what you want because tyranny doesn't stand up well against determined opposition.

No matter how much it hurts for us to see the videos of people gassed by nerve agents, there is no certainty as to whether it was Assad or Al Qaeda who performed the shelling. Further, Al Qaeda has been known to have complete disregard for life. I do not know who actually fired off that attack, but I would not put it past Al Qaeda to have set up some victims for a "sympathy" reaction. Stated another way, we know the "nerve gas" weapons were fired, but we don't know who pulled the trigger.

The vote in Congress (as of this morning's news) was leaning against taking action. The American public DOES realize that we shouldn't be the policeman of the world, but we hope that others in the world realize it is a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situation. We get chastised for taking action, true. But if we sit on the sidelines and do nothing, we get excoriated later for all the innocent lives that were lost.

I am not going to make an excuse for attacking Syria, but I remind folks of this old adage: All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Once we figure out who is to blame, a quick surgical strike with drones would be appropriate. Until we can place blame, though, it might be necessary to do nothing. Having seen the lesson of the Holocaust, I believe many Americans want to prevent that kind of horror. If history has any validity as a teacher, we need to see that right now we are in the stage of "good people doing nothing." That is perhaps a source of the unrest and the controversy.

 

[Steve R.]

As I continue to read, here are some ancillary thoughts:

Obama says, with this limited strike, that he is not after regime change. Yet Obama has or plans to provide military assistance to the rebels!!! If Obama is not after regime change then why is he proposing to arm the rebels? Obama’s Push for Syria Strike Revives Calls to Arm Rebels

Obama says that using chemical warfare goes against international norms. Obama is using drones to kill insurgents without due process. Who made Obama the policeman, judge, and jury? Evidently there have also been instance of innocent civilians killed as collateral damage. Isn't the US going against international norms by declaring itself as being the sole authority to establish worldwide morality? US drone 'kills Haqqani commander Sangeen Zadran'

 

[ColinEssex]

If the USA does arm / fight with or assist the rebels as Al Qaeda is doing, how do you feel about being allies of those that made the towers fall down?

Col

 

[Insane_ai]

1. I don't care who did it. I want America to stay out of it. We have no way to win unless WW3 is the real goal of our politicians. Even then, I want the US to staty out of the matter. Let someone else play police of the world for a few generations.
2. Assad is a Russian puppet, the rebels are Al Queda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Let them kill each other and sit on the sidelines, America wins anyway.
3. The UN hasn't released its report on the use of weapons. Without a report from people who are not influenced by either side, I can't believe anything I read about this.

There is "evidence" coming out on both sides to show blame. I personally think it is more plausable that the rebels got weapons they didn't understand and had an accident or that they released it on purpose to manipulate the idiots we have elected.

If any militaty strike against Syria happens, especially against Assad and therefore assiting Al-Queda, those who ordered it should be tried for treason in the US and war crimes in the UN.

The vast majority of American people do not want any involvement in Syria.

 

[Steve R.]

Late breaking news that may defuse the situation.
New York Times: Russia and Syria Seize on Kerry’s Arms Deal Remark

Seizing on a remark by Secretary of State John Kerry, Russia called on Syria on Monday to put its stockpiles of chemical weapons under international supervision and eventually to destroy them, offering a compromise that could avert an American-led strike in response to a poison-gas attack near Damascus last month.

 

[Rx_]

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/p...times_issues_correction_on_syrian_rebel_story
Graphic execution video from Wall Street Journal Syrian Rebels.

The WSJ correction story is even more graphic than the original. That is because the person quoted failed to mention he is on the payroll for a specific Syria lobby group.

But regardless of when the execution video was made, it still happened, and offers a window into how some rebel groups operate or at least operated at one point in time. It's also just one of many gruesome web videos with unconfirmed origins that have been used by both sides of the war for propaganda purposes. You can bet it won't be the last.

It is difficult to trust anyone on any side. However, there is no justification for joining the "lesser evil" in any situation that doesn't need to be joined in the first place.