No Proof, But Kerry Insists Syria Allegations ‘Undeniable’

Secretary of State Leads Charge in Selling Americans on War

The US attacks on Syria could begin any day now, and the administration is hard at work selling the American public on the dubious narrative presented by the rebels as an excuse for war, with Secretary of State John Kerry leading the charge.

There’s no solid proof for the allegations of chemical weapon use by the Assad government, and the US is vigorously trying to keep the UN investigators from taking a serious look at the matter.

Rather, Kerry reiterated the story, noting that something happened in Syria and that Assad is known to have chemical weapons, and insisting that makes it “undeniable” that it was a chemical weapons attack, even though the experts say that the symptoms of chemical exposure shown in the rebels’ videos are not necessarily in keeping with the sorts of weapons Syria is known to have.

Still, this has never been so much about “proof” as about being officially convinced, and Kerry’s comments underscore that the US plans to attack very soon, with recent sources saying it could happen in the next two weeks.

Oddly, nobody seems to have told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel about the plan, as Hagel today reiterated days-old talking points that the US is still looking at intelligence and hadn’t drawn any conclusions, even though everyone else in the administration is long past that point, and has set about trying to ridicule anyone who rejects their conclusion.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.