Doubts Surround Yesterday’s Allegations of Syria Chemical Weapons Strike

Lots of Photos, Little Proof for What Happened in Ghouta

Video and photographs are flooding the world of yesterday’s incident in Ghouta. Dozens of bodies are shown in what rebels claim was a chemical weapons attack from the Syrian government. They claim death tolls of 1,300 to 1,600.

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but while the pictures indeed suggest something happened in Ghouta, there is no real proof that it was a chemical weapon attack, or that the toll is anyone near that massive.

Russian officials yesterday and Syrian officials today say that the strike was actually caused by foreign fighters with a makeshift weapon, and that they are unsure what was released.

Fighting has continued in the area, and Syrian troops have bombed Ghouta again today in the course of the fighting. State Department officials say they are “unable to determine” what happened in Ghouta, and that seems to be the general consensus.

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.