SYRIA WAR MEGATHREAD - Mod Note First Post

Here is original link:

http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/

The source:

Dale Gavlak is a Middle East correspondent for Mint Press News and the Associated Press. Gavlak has been stationed in Amman, Jordan for the Associated Press for over two decades. An expert in Middle Eastern Affairs, Gavlak currently covers the Levant region of the Middle East for AP, National Public Radio and Mint Press News, writing on topics including politics, social issues and economic trends. Dale holds a M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Contact Dale at dgavlak@mintpressnews.com

Yahya Ababneh is a Jordanian freelance journalist and is currently working on a master’s degree in journalism, He has covered events in Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Libya. His stories have appeared on Amman Net, Saraya News, Gerasa News and elsewhere.

Me two i am with Russia who are sending there own battle ships to the med if you want my oppinion it is about time somebody has the balls and force to stand up to the good old US. Besides the British paraliment have completly voted down David Cameron so the Americans do not have the support of the U.K. and also China has said they will not suport any action untill they are more investigations not to mention Iran who have also spoke out about forgein military action aswell.

I think as bad as Assad may be militray action taken now by outside forces will only make the situation much worse and something like that should have been done a year or two ago. But China have said they want a pecafull end to this through discussion negotiation etc which i think is the only way to go.

I will say one of the problems with America is they have such a huge arms industry this year there military budget is well over 600 billion and even other countries arms budget are suplied by the Americans who will then be in debt to them for arms traing etc. You are talking colossal sums of money !

gurramok wrote: »

Assad has been using bombs of all sorts against his own people for the last 2 years. Where you have been, have you been watching events?

Again , not 'directly' against his own people. Do you seriously think long term it would be beneficial to deliberately target civilians for a post war Syrian govt?

Al Nusra and FSA use civilian areas to operate from and store weapons. Even using Mosques and Churches. If you want to suggest that in the middle of a war where a country is trying to rid itself of 'rebels' it will not target these areas as a result then ....

Civilian casualties always should be avoided but in war with such indiscriminate modern weapons I don't believe zero civilian casualties could ever be achieved by anyone. Even the self professed whiter than white Americans can't seem to help blow people up left right and centre wherever they go (although I'm not sure at this stage if they haven't realised their past mistakes or simply don't care)

theGEM wrote: »

While I personally believe the rebels were involed in the chemical attack, there is some holes in the above story:



.

Do you think a journalist with a 20 year history would throw it on the line without having some verifiable source or evidence??

Just to give an update from the Syrian side the following is a report from SANA (main Syrian news agency). In it they state the UN has thanked them for their co operation in relation to access to the attack site(so much for the 'Syrian govt blocking access' stories). Couldn't go so public on something if it was easily disproved so looks like the US will have to start peddling some other BS....

Foreign Ministry: What Kerry presented is based on old stories published by terrorists over a week ago

An official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that after days of media exaggeration about what the US administration described as decisive evidence, US Secretary of State John Kerry only produced material based on old stories which were published by terrorists over a week ago and are full of fabrication and lies.

The source said that the Ministry is surprised that one of the bigger countries in the world is attempting to deceive its public opinion in such a naïve manner by relying on non-evidence, and that the Ministry denounces the US act of basing its positions on war and peace on what was published on social networking sites, which the Ministry views as a desperate attempt to talk the world into accepting the upcoming US aggression.

The source said that the numbers quoted by Kerry are fictional and produced by armed groups in Syria and the opposition abroad, both of whom instigate the US aggression, adding that this scene brings to mind the lies promoted by Colin Powell before the invasion of Iraq.

The Source said that Foreign and Expatriates Ministry confirms that all the accusations leveled by Kerry against the Syrian state are lies and devoid for truth for the following reasons:

1-Syria has challenged the US to produce one piece of true and logical evidence that it used the alleged chemical weapons, and Kerry relied on fabricated images from the internet, and the alleged call made by a Syrian officer after the alleged attack is too ridiculous to be discussed.

2-Syria never impeded or restricted the international investigation committee, on the contrary; as the UN Secretary-General has lauded the Syrian cooperation with the committee in his most recent call with the Foreign and Expatriates Minister on 30/8/2013, asserting that Syria permitted the committee to move exactly as per the agreement signed by the two sides.

3-The UN itself said time and again that the traces of using any form of toxic gas do not dissipate over time, and the proof of this is that the UN sent the investigation committee 5 months after the Syrian government requested an investigation of Khan al-Assal incident. Therefore, the Syrian government did not delay the investigation committee's access to the alleged attack site, as this occurred within 48 hours of the arrival of UN envoy Angela Kane to Damascus.

4-The Syrian government affirms that Kerry's allegations that the Syrian Army knew about chemical weapons use three days prior to the incident are lies, as proven by the fact that Syria requested the investigation committee to visit al-Baharia area where Syrian Army soldiers were exposed to toxic gas, and the committee met the affected soldiers in the hospital.

5-If the aggression on Syria, as Kerry claims, intends to halt the use of chemical weapons, we would like to remind Kerry and the United States that Syria was the first to propose a draft resolution at the Security Council to make the Middle East free of all forms of weapons of mass destruction, and that the United States was the one who prevented the draft resolution from being passed.

6-Regrarding Kerry's hints which he made to bypass the Security Council under the pretext that the investigation committee isn't responsible for determining who used chemical weapons and that it's task is only to verify that such weapons were used or not, the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry would like to affirm that the committee's tasks were deiced upon by the Security Council, and that the US had pressured the committee to make its authority this limited, something which Kerry, being State Secretary, certainly knows.

The source said that the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry, while appreciating Kerry's concern over the Syrian people's security, affirms that this pretext has become exposed to everyone, and that under the pretext of defending the Syrian people, the US is paving the way for an aggression against this very people, an aggression which will claim hundreds of innocent victims whose blood will be on the hands of the United States and those who join it in this aggression morally, politically or effectively.

The source concluded by saying that this unilateral behavior only serves the political interests of the United States, not the interests of its people, and that it throws aside all international law and blatantly violates international legitimacy and the UN charter.

Al-Moallem: Syria rejects any incomplete report before UN experts wrap up investigations

Syria rejects any incomplete report by the UN General Secretariat before the UN experts wrap up missions and have the results of laboratory tests of gathered samples checked, and conduct investigations at sites where the Syrian soldiers had been exposed to toxic gases, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem said.

Al-Moallem was speaking during phone call on Friday with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that focused on the work of the UN mission investigating an alleged chemical weapons' use.

The UN Secretary-General thanked Syria for its full cooperation with the mission, saying the UN Secretariat is in the process of evaluating the results of mission's work and submitting its findings to international accredited labs.

Al-Moallem inquired about the motives behind having the experts withdrawn from Damascus before completing their mission. ''They will return to complete their mission,'' Ki-moon replied.

Syria expects the UN Secretary-General to maintain objectivity and rebuff pressure, and play his role in preserving world security and peace, al-Moallem said, adding Syria throws its weight behind his efforts to convene Geneva conference as it considers a political solution an exit route from the current situation.

''Any aggression on Syria would wreck efforts for finding a political solution, al-Moallem pointed out.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency "SANA"
08-30-2013

Wibbs wrote: »

I'm with Putin on this.

sweet baby jesus