News Investigation Finds No Evidence of Chemical Weapon Attack in Douma, Syria

[James]

[Board_SHERIF]

interesting, if it did happen I say it was either ISIS or the CIA. If not its a ploy to try and harm Russia by CIA/MI6 ?

[Straw Man]

Weird that something called One American News Network ( American conservative cable news television channel based in San Diego) was given access to the site and the victims but somehow chemical arms experts who tried to gain access on Monday were blocked ?

Chemical Arms Experts Blocked From Site of Syria Attack

LONDON — Chemical arms inspectors were blocked on Monday from the site of what is suspected of having been a poison attack by Syria’s military near Damascus, raising Western suspicions that Syria and its Russian ally were scrubbing the stricken area of evidence.

Who was responsible for the blocking, and why, quickly became part of the international recrimination and invective that have shaped blame over the Syria war since it began more than seven years ago.

The inspectors, from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, arrived in Syria on Saturday with the urgent goal of investigating the site of the April 7 attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma, which killed dozens.

But 48 hours later the inspectors were prevented from reaching the site, which Syrian and Russian forces have captured from rebels.

The inspectors, who wanted to take samples and interview people, “are currently being prevented from doing so by the regime and the Russians,” Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain said in Parliament.

Russia — which has questioned whether the Douma attack even happened — ridiculed the Western accusation, asserting that the United Nations had exercised its authority to delay the inspectors for security reasons.

The United Nations disputed the Russian explanation, saying it had no security issues and wanted the inspectors to reach the site quickly.

When, or even whether, the inspectors would be allowed unfettered access to the site remained unclear Monday night, despite Russian and Syrian promises of cooperation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/world/middleeast/syria-douma-chemical-attack.html

[Skeletor]

Weird that something called One American News Network ( American conservative cable news television channel based in San Diego) was given access to the site and the victims but somehow chemical arms experts who tried to gain access on Monday were blocked ?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/world/middleeast/syria-douma-chemical-attack.html

Was just reading on BBC that the investigators will be allowed into Douma:

Syria 'chemical attack': OPCW investigators to be allowed into Douma

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43792120

[Straw Man]

Was just reading on BBC that the investigators will be allowed into Douma:

Syria 'chemical attack': OPCW investigators to be allowed into Douma

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43792120

Yep, Russia and Syria just needed some time to try to clean up the evidence and threaten the locals

[Skeletor]

Yep, Russia and Syria just needed some time to try to clean up the evidence and threaten the locals

Possibly but let's see what the investigators will say.

[Straw Man]

Possibly but let's see what the investigators will say.

You don't trust Mattis who said last Friday we had proof that chlorine and sarin were used?

[Irongrip400]

You don't trust Mattis who said last Friday we had proof that chlorine and sarin were used?

I believe they were, just not by Assad. Why would he when he's so close to cinching things up in favor of his regime? I hope I'm not being a crazy CTer by thinking that.

[James]

Rand Paul Says Syrian Gas Attack Was False Flag

[Straw Man]

I believe they were, just not by Assad. Why would he when he's so close to cinching things up in favor of his regime? I hope I'm not being a crazy CTer by thinking that.

because he doesn't give a rats ass and also maybe because Trump indicated just days earlier that he wanted to be out in six months.  Turns out Trump wanted to be out in the next 48 hours but his military advisers had to explain that this was fucking impossible and stupid (translation = he's a moron)

But ok, so you don't think Assad did it but you think it happened

So who did it and why do you think that (whoever it is)

[James]

[James]

Famed War Reporter Robert Fisk Reaches Syrian 'Chemical Attack' Site, Concludes "They Were Not Gassed"


Robert Fisk's bombshell first-hand account for the UK Independent runs contrary to nearly every claim circulating in major international press concerning what happened just over week ago on April 7th in an embattled suburb outside Damascus: not only has the veteran British journalist found no evidence of a mass chemical attack, but he's encountered multiple local eyewitnesses who experienced the chaos of that night, but who say the gas attack never happened.

Fisk is the first Western journalist to reach and report from the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack widely blamed on Assad's forces. Writing from Douma in eastern Ghouta, Fisk has interviewed a Syrian doctor who works at the hospital shown in one of the well-known videos which purports to depict victims of a chemical attack.

Importantly, the report, published late in the day Monday, is causing a stir among mainstream journalists who–minutes after the Saudi-sponsored jihadist group Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) accused the Syrian Army of gassing civilians–began uncritically promoting the "Assad gassed his own people" narrative as an already cemented and "proven" fact based on the mere word a notoriously brutal armed group who itself has admitted to using chemical weapons on the Syrian battlefield in prior years. Also notable is that no journalist or international observer was anywhere near Douma when the purported chemical attack took place.

Controversy ensued immediately after Fisk's report, especially as he is among the most recognizable names in the past four decades of Middle East war reporting, having twice won the British Press Awards' Journalist of the Year prize and as seven time winner of the British Press Awards' Foreign Correspondent of the Year (the NY Times has referred to him as "probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain" while The Guardian has called him "one of the most famous journalists in the world").

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-17/famed-war-reporter-robert-fisk-reaches-syrian-chemical-attack-site-concludes-they

[Straw Man]

Famed War Reporter Robert Fisk Reaches Syrian 'Chemical Attack' Site, Concludes "They Were Not Gassed"


Robert Fisk's bombshell first-hand account for the UK Independent runs contrary to nearly every claim circulating in major international press concerning what happened just over week ago on April 7th in an embattled suburb outside Damascus: not only has the veteran British journalist found no evidence of a mass chemical attack, but he's encountered multiple local eyewitnesses who experienced the chaos of that night, but who say the gas attack never happened.

Fisk is the first Western journalist to reach and report from the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack widely blamed on Assad's forces. Writing from Douma in eastern Ghouta, Fisk has interviewed a Syrian doctor who works at the hospital shown in one of the well-known videos which purports to depict victims of a chemical attack.

Importantly, the report, published late in the day Monday, is causing a stir among mainstream journalists who–minutes after the Saudi-sponsored jihadist group Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) accused the Syrian Army of gassing civilians–began uncritically promoting the "Assad gassed his own people" narrative as an already cemented and "proven" fact based on the mere word a notoriously brutal armed group who itself has admitted to using chemical weapons on the Syrian battlefield in prior years. Also notable is that no journalist or international observer was anywhere near Douma when the purported chemical attack took place.

Controversy ensued immediately after Fisk's report, especially as he is among the most recognizable names in the past four decades of Middle East war reporting, having twice won the British Press Awards' Journalist of the Year prize and as seven time winner of the British Press Awards' Foreign Correspondent of the Year (the NY Times has referred to him as "probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain" while The Guardian has called him "one of the most famous journalists in the world").

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-17/famed-war-reporter-robert-fisk-reaches-syrian-chemical-attack-site-concludes-they

Since when does anyone on this board believe reporters or the media

Haven't you heard.  It's all Fake News

[lilhawk1]

Since when does anyone on this board believe reporters or the media

Haven't you heard.  It's all Fake News

It's only fake if they don't agree with it.  Just like Trump.

[Irongrip400]

because he doesn't give a rats ass and also maybe because Trump indicated just days earlier that he wanted to be out in six months.  Turns out Trump wanted to be out in the next 48 hours but his military advisers had to explain that this was fucking impossible and stupid (translation = he's a moron)

But ok, so you don't think Assad did it but you think it happened

So who did it and why do you think that (whoever it is)

Isis remnants or some other jihadist group clawing for any shred of what they could consider victory. The place is a warzone and the defeated are doing anything they can in a last gasp effort to totally undermine the Assad regime. I'm not under the impression Assad is a good guy, I just don't see where he had any reason at all to do this, but that there were other groups that did have reason.

[SuperTed]

because he doesn't give a rats ass and also maybe because Trump indicated just days earlier that he wanted to be out in six months. Turns out Trump wanted to be out in the next 48 hours but his military advisers had to explain that this was fucking impossible and stupid (translation = he's a moron)

But ok, so you don't think Assad did it but you think it happened

So who did it and why do you think that (whoever it is)

Perhaps the Syrian government did commit the attack as a way to quickly capture the town and force out the remaining Jihadists who had hidden underground.
However, the Jihadist group who were controlling Douma at the time have themselves been accused of using chemical weapons against Kurdish forces.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/944900/Syria-Assad-chemical-attack-Douma-Jaish-al-Islam-Kurds-YPG-Kurdistan

They could possibly have orchestrated the attack and blamed the government forces in order to bring about a US response. Even senior commanders in the British and US military have admitted they couldn't understand why the Syrian government would have used chemical weapons.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5616533/Former-head-Britains-special-forces-says-Assad-doesnt-need-use-gas.html

BTW, I know you hate Trump and that's fine. There are plenty of issues that I have with him too. However, why do you oppose him wanting to pull US troops out of Syria? Are you supportive of the current US policy in the Middle East and the military-industrial complex?

[Agnostic007]

regardless of who did it, it underscores an even bigger issue. We can't tell what the truth is anymore. Unless we were there seeing it, we seem to be losing the ability to know if what we believe is the truth or not, some due to willful ignorance, like the Sandy Hook red flaggers or because of intentional misinformation by foreign and domestic entities.

[Straw Man]

Perhaps the Syrian government did commit the attack as a way to quickly capture the town and force out the remaining Jihadists who had hidden underground.
However, the Jihadist group who were controlling Douma at the time have themselves been accused of using chemical weapons against Kurdish forces.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/944900/Syria-Assad-chemical-attack-Douma-Jaish-al-Islam-Kurds-YPG-Kurdistan

They could possibly have orchestrated the attack and blamed the government forces in order to bring about a US response. Even senior commanders in the British and US military have admitted they couldn't understand why the Syrian government would have used chemical weapons.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5616533/Former-head-Britains-special-forces-says-Assad-doesnt-need-use-gas.html

BTW, I know you hate Trump and that's fine. There are plenty of issues that I have with him too. However, why do you oppose him wanting to pull US troops out of Syria? Are you supportive of the current US policy in the Middle East and the military-industrial complex?

when did I say I was opposed to being in or out

I really don't know.  I think if we're going to be involved then we should be fully committed which obviously includes getting Congressional approval and having a clear plan.

We seem to be OK with Syrian murdering it's own people but take issue with their chosen method. 

dead is dead

What difference does it make how they do it

[Agnostic007]

when did I say I was opposed to being in or out

I really don't know.  I think if we're going to be involved then we should be fully committed which obviously includes getting Congressional approval and having a clear plan.

We seem to be OK with Syrian murdering it's own people but take issue with their chosen method. 

dead is dead

What difference does it make how they do it

I recently tried to read up on the history of chem gas warfare as you raise a good question. For example, one of the arguments is it kills indiscriminately. So do land mines and C130 gun ships. Another is the long lasting effects it has on survivors. Well, go to any VA hospital and you can see the long lasting effects of many of the legitimate warfare options. 

[Las Vegas]

I believe they were, just not by Assad. Why would he when he's so close to cinching things up in favor of his regime? I hope I'm not being a crazy CTer by thinking that.

Do you watch a lot of TV?  Do you believe it?

You're a crazy CTer.