Last week’s report of a chemical weapon attack in Syria’s Aleppo Province sparked an array of calls to action, with most nations and politicians insisting it vindicated whatever position they had before, despite many points of uncertainty about it. The incident is coming into sharper focus now, however.
The attack, intelligence sources appear to agree, was launched by rebel fighters and not government forces. Since the victims were overwhelmingly the Syrian military, this was not a huge shock, but is important to reiterate.
The other interesting aspect is that it was not a “proper” chemical weapon, at least from preliminary investigations. The evidence suggests that the strike used a lachrymatory agent, not a nerve agent, and that the deaths were caused by suffocating on chlorine-based gas that was injected into a warhead.
In some ways, this is a distinction without a difference, as the use of suffocating gas, regardless of how it kills people, is a serious war crime under international law. The important factor, however, is that it is not the sort of weapon Syria has in its arsenal, rather it is a lower-tech solution.
This is perhaps even scarier, because it suggests the jihadist factions in the rebel movement, which are being tapped as the likely origin of this strike, have developed the capability to making crude, but lethal, chemical agent devices of their own. If this sort of warfare is to become a regular part of the rebel arsenal, the death toll could be catastrophic, and might encourage the Syrian military to respond in kind with their own chemical weapons.
Incredibly, even though all the evidence now points to the headline “Syria uses chemical weapons” being wrong on two fronts, House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Rogers (R – MI) is still insisting that the incident is an excuse for the US to attack Syria and install the rebels.
Were these people knew what they were doing or they just did it hoping for NATO enter Syria via turkey…?
Ditz sounds disappointed the truth doesn't match his earlier biased news stories blaming the Syrian government. Maybe it's time to stop pretending those terrorists run by Israel and America that are terrorising Syria are anything but terrorist?
A pro-war news slant is a strange way to do news on a site calling itself Antiwar.com.
I keep giving you rope in case you might just possibly ever back up any of your aspersions. So far, no. And you're running out of rope.
Frankly Thomas, I'm confused. I've been watching this attack on Jason, that's been going on for months now, but makes no sense. As far as I can tell, he's not taking a position on Syria, he's just reporting the friggin' news.
Then too, there seems to be a whole crowd of these guys, all jumping on Jason, and claiming he's supporting one side or the other. I don't really know. What I do notice though, is that you get eight thumbs down all at once. That makes no sense unless a whole bunch these clowns out there ganging up on you.
Is it possible these are all Free Syrian Army — i.e. rebel — hacks, deployed out of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights?
Do you have any notion of what's going on?
…wonder how much a Rep Rogers costs… can't-sit-idly-by else “stain on our national character,” eh? I'm still scrubbing GWoT-Stains out of my dress blues. Go to hell, Mike.
Dumb, Dumb, and DUMBER thats all that can be said of Mike Rogers(R – MI)
Dumb, Dumb, and DUMBER policies are all coming from "the first black president" who has killed thousands including children. SHAME ON AMERICA and its gullible idots.
Pour into street and burn donw the savages, otherwise you will be destroyed soon. How dumb you want to be before any real ACTION?
Poor Mike…just doesn't know how to handle it when his Israeli handlers get caught in a lie. I wonder how Mike might react if (when) it comes out that the "lower-tech solution" was supplied by those same Israelis, third or fourth-hand, of course. The warmongers will stop at nothing to continue the Grand Plan of complete regional destabilization and eventual collapse.
Where does the american people dig up this garbage then sends them to washington to insult the intelligence of an imbecile.