The Obama administration expressed strong doubts about claims from UN officials that the Syrian rebel fighters, not the Assad regime, used chemical weapons.
“We are highly skeptical of suggestions that the opposition could have or did use chemical weapons,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters. “We find it highly likely that any chemical weapon use that has taken place in Syria was done by the Assad regime. And that remains our position.”
But the UN independent commission of inquiry on Syria “has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons,” Reuters reported commission member Carla Del Ponte as saying.
“There are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated,” Del Ponte said in an interview.
“This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,” she added.
After Del Ponte’s statements grabbed headlines around the world, the UN commission released a formal statement clarifying that they have ”not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict.”
Some reported the statement as stepping back from Del Ponte’s suggestions, but it did not deny the preliminary evidence Del Ponte referred to and merely reiterated what Del Ponte had originally described as “not yet incontrovertible proof” one way or the other.
In addition to the White House skepticism, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) formally denied using chemical weapons. Saleem Edris, FSA chief of staff, said such claims were an “injustice” and a “provocation” to the Syrian people.
But the FSA is merely one small faction in a country of over 1,000 disparate rebel militias, making it highly unlikely that Edris speaks for whatever rebel group allegedly deployed the sarin gas.
The alleged use of chemical weapons drew international attention after President Obama declared it a “red line” for the Assad regime, crossing which would trigger unspecified military action. Advocates of intervention into Syria’s civil war used the allegations to rally support for military action.
If claims that rebels actually used chemical weapons turn out to be true, arguments for the US to intervene militarily on there behalf will be significantly delegitimized.
Obama draws a red line on chemical use by Assad. That signals the rebels to use chemical weapons in order to justify the very unpopular U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war. Obama's clumsy ploy is uncovered by Carla Del Ponte. All three networks stumble to explain the massive assault by Israeli warplanes and no mention is made of Obama's giant lie. Or Del Ponte uncovering that lie.
This is the second major Obama foreign policy lie in two days. Yesterday he blamed congress for the Guantanamo bill he signed and fully supported.
"Yeah, screw the facts, Assad is the bad guy because we say so. Don't you trust us? We're the government, oh and don't forget our president is (half) black so he can't be criticized"
The only real question is from whom did the rebels get the sarin gas?
I have another question:
IF the WH argument of chemicals is bs, then what other minor events have been parroted as truths but are largely unchallenged by source checking?
It has been reported that the Saudi prib´nce did deliver something and the Turkish police did find SARIN gas at Al Nusra groups inTurkey -a sReuters and some Turkisch neespapers did report.
See more info at http://www.globalresearch.com
A shorter condensed info you can find at the last comments here: http://08oo.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/key-reasons-…
Given how politically risky it is for Del Ponte to come out with such a statement – I think it's safe to believe she wouldn't have made it unless she was 100% certain it was the rebels behind the use of CW.
After the Iraq war, who the hell believes American so called intelligence anymore?
Obama you f dirty WARMONGER. Do you want WW3 to DESCEND UPON AMERIKA?
I DON'T believe warmongers..LIKE O'BOMBER…
Our deee..mocracy is still on track. Everybody we elected knows that only the bad guys would fight dirty like this. Just like I saw on Bonanza in 1965, the good guys will fix it all up shortly with no-one hurt except for minimal collateral damage. Then I can get back to the football game and Have Gun, Will Travel. I am so thankful that our president's hat is pure white. Now, where's my beer?
This is a typical antiwar fraud headline. Any US government lie will be promoted., but you will never hear what the government really said:
Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria is the same theater piece they are playing – see
http://08oo.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/key-reasons-…
It's pretty sad when you can trust the judges on Dancing With the Stars more than your own government.
Hey, during an interview when Dick Cheney was asked in an interview that he had said an Iraqi intel agent met atta in Prague, chech republic when it had been totally discredited, he said no he didn't. When the interviewer showed Cheney the video where he said it, Cheney still insisted that he did not. So when this lying thug Carney says "We find it highly likely that any chemical weapon use that has taken place in Syria was done by the Assad regime. And that remains our position.” Screw the facts and truth; we say 2 plus 2 equals 5 and that remains our position. Republicans and Democrats are two murderous regimes!
CIA — False flag strikes again
Add up all the CIA death squad and drone assignations of anti-US leaders, and surely CIA must be over 10,000 victims to their credit.
So, it be agreed, our CIA paid the rebels to gas the nerves and not until they come up with overwhelming evidence of their innocence shall the blood guilt ever be removed.
Well let's see. Former Hague prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte as a member of the commission investigating the use of chemical weapons said that she is confident that on the basis of interviews of victims and the medical staff that provided treatment that the rebels used the chemical weapons.
Also, the same rebels demonststrated months ago their capabilities on YouTube — demonstrating the use of nerve gas on rabbits. Quite educational. Or instructing ten year olds how to chop a person's head off — practicing on a live prsoner. NICE people, our government is so keen on helping topple law and order and descent the country into chaos like currently being "enjoyed" by "liberated" Libiyans. Let our brave media go to Libiya today, to talk to people and hear what they think of our "helping". And arming some of the most violent people on earth to terrorize the population — calling THEM liberators? How on earth will our establishment — democrat or republican — explain their idiotic foreign policy, when our "allies" are showing to the world what kind of sick monsters they really are? How long will this lie stay alive?