Plenty of Time, But US Opposes Syria Inspections

Claims That Probe Is 'Too Late' Unfounded, Experts Say

Having decided to attack Syria on the basis of their own suppositions, the Obama Administration has been outspokenly opposed to the UN inspection of the putative chemical weapons attack site in Damascus, insisting it is “too late.

Britain has eagerly endorsed the myth of “too late,” insisting that the results are probably “tampered with” in the few days between the incident and inspectors arriving.

There’s no science behind those suppositions, of course, and experts say that not only is a few days far from “too late,” but that an actual, real chemical weapons attack would leave traces for years and would be virtually impossible to hide.

Yet the US and Britain seem confident that the probe won’t come out in their favor. Russia and Syria both seem similarly confident that the probe will exonerate the Assad government, which is why they’re supporting it.

But the US is prepared to go to war for the sake of a narrative that is making less and less sense, and is desperately fighting to avoid any independent facts coming out on the incident before they can get the attacks off the ground. By the time the UN rules, it will be “too late” for real, but only because the Obama Administration is deliberately jumping the gun.

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.