Podcast : Adam Shatz talks to Joshua Landis on Syria War.: Trump reverting to the Obama doctrine

For the latest instalment of our podcast, @adamshatz spoke to @joshua_landis about the Syrian War, listen/read here: https://t.co/UahinsDP6B

— London Review (LRB) (@LRB) April 21, 2017

ISIS Carrying Out Chemical Experiments on Prisoners and animals.

ISIS Carrying Out Chemical Experiments on Prisoners and animals. (IranFrontpage).

ISIS [also known as Daesh or ISIL] has moved its chemical weapons operations to densely populated residential areas, and is testing homemade chlorine and mustard gas on its prisoners, residents of the Iraqi city of Mosul have claimed.

ISIS is reported to have set up laboratories in built-up neighborhoods in the heart of its so-called caliphate to avoid being targeted by coalition air strikes, The Telegraph reported, as covered by ISNA.
The terror group is known to harbour chemical and nuclear ambitions, and is trying to manufacture weapons not only for attacks within Iraq and Syria but also the West.

It has a special unit for chemical weapons research made up of Iraqi scientists who worked on weapons programs under the former dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as foreign experts.
The head of the unit, Suleiman Daoud al-Afari, was captured during a raid by US special forces outside Mosul in March and is now sharing intelligence on ISIS’s chemical operation.

An investigation by Syrian and Iraqi citizen journalists, who report under the name Sound and Picture, reveals that he has now been replaced by Abu Shaima, an Iraqi doctor who worked at the University of Baghdad during Saddam’s reign.

Other than his links to the late Iraqi dictator, little is known about Shaima, which is customary for top ISIS leaders.

He is said last month to have moved the group’s operations away from its main laboratories at the universities of Mosul and Tel Afar, which have both been hit in recent months, to residential areas to protect it against aerial attack.

Residents of al-Mohandseen – which had been a wealthy Christian neighborhood until ISIS seized the city – said several houses had been taken over by ISIS officials in the last few weeks. A number of large unmarked trucks have been parked outside and more recently they reported seeing dozens of dead dogs and rabbits in nearby rubbish containers.

An ISIS insider confirmed to the journalists, who shared the information with The Telegraph, that they had been dumped there after they were used for chemical testing.

The report also claimed ISIS has been carrying out experiments on prisoners they are holding at a secret jail in al-Andalus, in the Nineveh governorate of Mosul, exposing them to chlorine and mustard gas to test the toxicity.

Residents near the prison have reported breathing difficulties and children developing severe rashes – some of the side effects of exposure to such substances.

The extremists have seized large quantities of industrial chlorine and are believed to have the expertise to make mustard gas. They are also feared to have captured chemical weapon stocks from the Syrian army across the border.

The militant group has already used chemical weapons against Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq and Syria.

In March, a suspected ISIS chemical attack on the Iraqi town of Taza, south of Kirkuk, killed three children and wounded some 1,500 people, with injuries ranging from burns to rashes and respiratory problems.

Brigadier Roger Noble, the deputy commander of international troops training and supporting the Iraqi army, told The Telegraph that ISIS militants are expected to use chemical weapons against troops trying to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second city.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former commanding officer of the UK Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment (CBRN) and chemical weapons adviser to NGOs in Syria and Iraq, told The Telegraph the revelations showed the group was adapting to the coalition’s punishing air strikes.

“ISIS’s chemical weapons operation has been heavily targeted – as is detailed in this report – and moving into residential areas is exactly what you would expect them to do now.”

He said Western security services should be concerned that their chemical operations have effectively gone underground, allowing them to continue their work outside of strike range.

“Now we know the extent of the ISIS chemical and dirty bomb aspirations we must make doubly sure that our security in the UK is absolutely water-tight against this threat.”

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Nasrallah in Latest Speech: 'Ammonia plant in Haifa is my atomic bomb'.

Nasrallah in Latest Speech: 'Ammonia plant in Haifa is my atomic bomb'. (YnetNews).

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened on Tuesday to fire missiles at the ammonia plant in Haifa, which he claimed would cause an explosion similar to that of a nuclear bomb.

Nasrallah had a message for IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, "its simple mathematics. A few missiles on a few ammonium plants equals the same amount of death as an atomic bomb...you can destroy Lebanon and Dahiyeh. You have the strongest airforce, you have missiles, and you have other means by which to do it. But we can do the same thing to you (Israel) with only a few missiles aimed at a few amonium plants."

Nasrallah then quoted an Israeli expert saying that the residents of Haifa are afraid of a deadly attack on the ammonia plant which contains more that 15,000 tons of gas. An explosion there could kill hundreds of thousands of people in the area. The same expert compared the hypothetical attack to a "nuclear bomb."

After the Second Lebanon War, the Haifa municipality ordered a report from a British company, in order to mitigate the risks to the ammonia plant. The report revealed that in the event of a hit on the ammonia plant, it will release a cloud ten miles in diameter, and will cover all of Haifa and Acre. "Researchers who conducted the studies in the 1990's concluded that there could be 70,000 casualties," said professor Amos Natua.

 "The State Comptroller released a statement in 2003 that the number will likely be much higher."

The Haifa municipality issued a response to the speech saying "We don't believe that we should run the country based on Nasrallah's arrogant speeches, but we're happy that he put this worrying and important issue on the agenda- even if it is coming from a frightened man who's been hiding in a bunker for the last several years." Read the full story here.

OSCC report says Ukraine troops at Donetsk airport were allegedly attacked by poison gas on Jan 19.

OSCE report says Ukraine troops at Donetsk airport were allegedly attacked by poison gas on Jan 19. (OSCE).

A Ukrainian soldier in a hospital in government-controlled Konstantinovka (56km north of Donetsk) told the SMM that he was being treated for injuries sustained at the Donetsk airport on 19 January.

He said 80 Ukrainian soldiers in total had suffered the same injuries, manifested in uncontrollable muscle spasms, vomiting and difficult breathing. Some, he said, had become unconscious. Eleven of the soldiers had been transferred to a hospital in Dnepropetrovsk, he said.

HT And Source:

BREAKING: @OSCE_SMM report says #Ukraine troops at #Donetsk airport on Jan 19 were allegedly attacked by poison gas http://t.co/5yIGDffju4
— Silver Surfer (@RobPulseNews) January 22, 2015

French & Belgian French-Speaking Jihad Fighters In Syria: "France, Soon It Will Be Your Turn"

French and Belgian French-Speaking Jihad Fighters In Syria: "France, Soon It Will Be Your Turn".HT: Memri.

Among the jihadis fighting in Syria are French-speaking Europeans, mostly from France and Belgium. Some of these individuals are active on social media, where they provide detailed information about their journey to Syria and about their experiences there: their daily lives, their training routine, and their experiences on the battlefield fighting not only the Syrian regime forces but also the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish PKK.  They urge their fellow European Muslims to come fight in Syria, and answer questions by would-be recruits, often chatting with them in real time.

Posted on Facebook and Twitter rather than on password-protected Islamist forums, the messages are directly accessible to the general public and not just to a closed community, and are obviously aimed at recruitment. In casual and often jocular language typical of messages on social media, the authors paint a rosy picture of life on the front, stressing the pious atmosphere and the sense of brotherhood-in-arms shared by the fighters. They note that recruits may come with their wives and children, and stress the practical advantages of joining the jihad community in Syria, such as the prospect of finding a bride and the low cost of living.

At the same time, the messages also contain the usual tropes of jihadi discourse: the authors stress that they are fighting the "infidels" with the ultimate aim of establishing the Islamic Caliphate, rebuke fellow Muslims who fail to do their duty of fighting jihad, express their willingness and even desire to be martyred for the sake of Allah, and voice threats against those they perceive as their enemies, including Western countries.
The following are excerpts from messages by several French-speaking jihadis that are fighting in the ranks of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Aba Souleyman To Muslims In France And Belgium: "Leave Before It's Too Late"

"Aba Souleyman"[1] is a French-speaking European (most likely Belgian) who has been in Syria since August 2013. The information he has divulged on his Facebook page suggests he his fighting for the ISIS in northern Syria, near the border town of A'zaz, and living with his wife in the Aleppo suburbs. On October 23, 2013, he posted a message urging Muslims in Europe to come to Syria to join the jihad. He wrote: "This message is for my Muslim brothers in France, Belgium and elsewhere who have not yet joined us here in Syria but are thinking about it. Those who are not even considering it have heart disease that only Allah can remove."[2]Read the full story here.

Is Turkey Supporting Al-Qaeda in Syria?

Is Turkey Supporting Al-Qaeda in Syria?(Aina).By Michael Rubin.

Perhaps the most dangerous group in Syria is Jabhat al-Nusra, the Nusra Front. The group does not hide its sympathy for al-Qaeda and targets more moderate Syrian opposition groups alongside the Syrian regime. 

While Syrians comprise most Syrian opposition groups, the Nusra Front counts Libyans, Saudis, Mauritanians, Chechens, Uighurs, Germans, and Turks among its fighters. Around Syria, it is an open secret that Turkey supports--or at least has supported--the Nusra Front.

Not only has Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan denied that the Nusra Front are terrorists--more like honorable jihadists, he suggested in the face of questions from an opposition leader--but Turkish forces have also apparently used al-Nusra as a proxy against the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish party linked to Turkey's own Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which remains overwhelmingly popular among Syria's Kurdish population. If it comes to a choice between an al-Qaeda affiliate and a secular Kurdish party controlling territory, Erdoğan sides with al-Qaeda.

When I asked Iraqi counterterrorism officials who monitor the transit of al-Qaeda last summer about the Turkish relationship with the Nusra Front, they were careful. "Let's just say that whenever the Nusra Front wants to have a meeting, they know they can do so inside Turkey and won't be bothered," one official told me. While diplomatic tension between Iraq and Turkey remains strong, the official was able to give very specific examples that suggest he was not simply trying to tar Turkey.

Erdoğan, himself, however has bristled at any suggestion Turkey provides safe haven or even free passage to the Nusra Front. Now, however, there is video evidence. CNN International has an excellent video report on the transit of jihadis through the Hatay airport in Turkey and into Syria. Perhaps it is time for officials to question the judgment of President Obama for his friendship with and personal endorsement of Erdoğan, who appears not only to sympathize with the most radical elements in Syria's civil war, but also to be a liar.Hmmmm.......Perhaps it's time to look up the definition of 'State sponsor of terrorism'?

Report: Hezbollah has chemical warheads .

Report: Hezbollah has chemical warheads.(CNR).

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Hezbollah has long-range missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads that are stored in underground sites in Lebanon, a Lebanese lawmaker said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards supervised the construction of underground bunkers and other sites used to store the missiles, Lebanese Member of Parliament Khaled Daher told the Saudi Arabia newspaper al-Watan Saturday.
Daher, a member of the Lebanese Future Movement party that opposes Hezbollah, said that is why Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently warned Israel "will face what you have not seen before." Daher said the missiles are capable of reaching Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities.

The missiles are stored in a number of locations in the country, he said.
"There are restricted areas no one can approach or enter, this indicates the seriousness of the contents of those sites , which are certain to be long-range missile bases," he said.

The Lebanese politician said SyrianPresident Bashar Assad is responsible for sending the missiles and chemicals to Hezbollah. Daher said Assad transferred some of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile to "its most prominent ally in the region (Hezbollah) ... in an attempt to retain as much of the chemical weapons arsenal as possible."

The missiles are "a threat to stability in the region... they serve the Iranians... and this led us more than once to request the international community put the (Hezbollah) party sites under its control," Daher told the newspaper.
Daher called on the international community to take similar steps against Hezbollah as it is doing in Syria, and put Hezbollah's stockpile of chemical weapons under international scrutiny

Video- Are these Syrian Rebel held 'Hostages' still alive? WHERE ARE THEY?

Video- Are these Syrian Rebel held 'Hostages' still alive? WHERE ARE THEY?

An August 18 L.A. Times report mentioned pro-government news reports "that more than 150 area civilians have been taken hostage," alongside an opposition spokesman who "said the civilians were being held to protect them from army shelling and would be released at some point in exchange for prisoners in government hands," unless perhaps their terms aren't met. The report also offers this video analysis for a troubling glimpse into the captivity in question:

The opposition has uploaded several videos onto the Internet in an effort to demonstrate that its forces have not mistreated Alawite civilians in the captured villages. Some militant Sunni groups consider Alawites and Shiites as apostates. “Don’t be afraid. We are not going to kill you or do you any harm,” a bearded rebel fighter who goes by the name Abu Firas tells an elderly Alawite man in one clip. “Do you know why? Because the prophet [Muhammad], peace be upon him, said, ‘Do not kill the elderly, a child or a woman.’ This is our religion. What about your religion?”

The clear implication is that Alawites slaughter people, and might explain why, even in their PR video version, fighting age men are still fair game. Away from their cameras, Alawite women are reportedly being sliced open to deliberately murder their fetuses as well.

Defense expert: ‘Strike or diplomatic solution on Iran likely within 12 months’

Defense expert: ‘Strike or diplomatic solution on Iran likely within 12 months’.HT: JPost.

The coming 12 months will likely see either a military strike or a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program, a senior Israeli defense expert told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday.

Brig.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Nuriel, a research associate at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, and a former director of the Counter- Terrorism Bureau, spoke before the ICT’s World Summit on Counter-Terrorism, which will begin in Herzliya on Sunday.
“My assessment is that the coming year will see a milestone in the international efforts against Iran’s nuclear program. It will either take the form of offensive actions, or an agreement with Iran.
The year cannot pass without activities that will significantly change the arena,” Nuriel said.
Iran might make an 11th-hour concession that will lead to an agreement with the international community, he said.
Turning to Syria, Nuriel said that an arms development center near Damascus, which also produces chemical weapons, would make a natural target in any US strike on the Assad regime.
The Scientific Studies and Research Center, known by its French acronym, CERS, should be on the US’s target list, he said.
“This is a center that develops all types of weapons, including nonconventional arms,” he said. “This is the place where the Syrian regime realizes its fantasies on military technologies, and therefore it is fit for destruction.”
Intelligence agencies from various countries have spent years trying to figure out what is being developed at CERS, Nuriel noted. “It’s a target,” he said.
Asked if the decision by US President Barack Obama to delay a strike on Syria might embolden Iran, Nuriel said he doubted that would happen.
“The Syrians are really not like the Iranians. They don’t have the same daring as the Iranians, the same thinking, or the same goals.
The comparison does not add up. There is no connection between these arenas.
Nuclear capabilities can’t be compared to chemical capabilities. Syria’s chemical weapons haven’t made a huge impression. We have the ability to take defensive and offensive action against them. I would not extrapolate from what is taking place with Syria to Iran. I wouldn’t advise the Iranians to take away any lessons from Syria,” he said.
As Syria continues to attract radical Sunni jihadi elements, Nuriel warned that pro-al-Qaida forces are “alive and kicking everywhere” in the region. “In some places, this is a counter- reaction to extremist Shi’ite jihadists. There’s a rivalry between the two camps. In the midst of their confrontation, they can attack Western and Israeli targets, too. The Sunni jihad is already here. It’s in Sinai, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.”Hmmmm.......Does Iran need another twelve months ?Read the full story here.

‘We have our plans in case the situation develops toward the use of force': Vladimir Putin warns US against Syria military action.

‘We have our plans’in case the situation develops toward the use of force': Vladimir Putin warns US against Syria military action.HT: :London Guardian

Vladimir Putin has warned the US against launching military action in Syria, stating that Russia has “plans” on how it would react if such a scenario unfolded.

The Russian president’s comments came as Barack Obama for the first time portrayed his plans for US military action as part of a broader strategy to topple Bashar al-Assad, as the White House’s campaign to win over sceptics in Congress gained momentum.
In an interview with Associated Press and Russia’s state Channel 1 television, Putin said it was too early to talk about what Russia would do if the US attacked Syria but added: “We have our ideas about what we will do and how we will do it in case the situation develops toward the use of force or otherwise. We have our plans.”
At the same time he said Russia did not exclude supporting a UN resolution on punitive military strikes if it were proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people. But he described the idea that Syrian government forces would use chemical weapons at a time when he said they were in the ascendancy and knowing the potential repercussions as absurd. Given his comments, and the fact that Russia has protected Syria from punitive action at the UN security council before, his suggestion that Russia might support a resolution on strikes is unlikely to be given much credence in the US.Read the full story here.

Putin Lashes Out, Accuses Kerry Of Lying To Congress.

Putin Lashes Out, Accuses Kerry Of Lying To Congress.HT: Zero Hedge

Ahead of tomorrow's ever-so-friendly G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg - where the US Secretary of State hopes that "the Kremlin has a change of heart," - Russia's President Putin just raised the rhetoric. As Reuters reports:

PUTIN ACCUSES U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY OF LYING TO CONGRESS ABOUT AL QAEDA'S ROLE IN SYRIA CONFLICT

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN SAYS U.S. CONGRESS HAS NO RIGHT TO "LEGITIMISE AGGRESSION" AGAINST SYRIA

With the Moskva sailing into the Med along with many many others, it seems as Obama just admitted during his Sweden press conference, [on Putin:] "We've kinda hit a wall on additional progress"

Related:

Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons.

Syria’s Game of Thrones: Obama backs Al Qaida and the Chechen terrorists.

Syria’s Game of Thrones: Obama backs Al Qaida and the Chechen terrorists. HT: Ben Swann

From 1979 to 1989, the Soviet Union was involved in a long, drawn out war in Afghanistan which came to be known as “Russia’s Vietnam.” At the time, the US was backing anti Russian forces in the country. Those forces – collectively known as the Mujahideen – were fighting against the pro-Soviet Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
One of the main leaders of the Mujahideen was Osama Bin Laden – originally from a wealthy Saudi Arabian family – and were ultimately successful in toppling the government. They didn’t, however, form a new government right away, and ultimately the Pakistan and Saudi-backed Taliban were able to seize control. These radical groups backed Bin Laden’s attack on the US in September 11, prompting the US to enter a near-decade-long war in the country.
Unfortunately, it seems that neither Russia nor the US has learned much from history, and the geopolitical conflicts of the Cold War have shifted almost entirely to the Middle East. Russia’s control over Europe’s oil supply gives the country a substantial amount of influence in that region, but the oil comes from the Middle East, making it the strategically relevant region of the 21^st century.
The difference between the Middle East and the former battleground of Eastern Europe, though, is that in the 1940s, Eastern Europe had no strong regional powers. The empires which had previously dominated the region had disintegrated, and no one had replaced them. The Middle East, however, does have its own strong regional players.
The Saudis and Iranians are vying for control over the Middle East, and each support different sets of regional forces. The Saudis are allied with the USA, while Iran is backed by Russia and China; the Saudis support Al Qaida, and Iran supports Hezbollah. The Saudis support the rebel forces – much as they did in Afghanistan – while Iran’s alliance is with Syria’s current leader, Bashar Hafez al-Assad.

It’s in this context that recent reports of Saudi-Russian negotiations have emerged. In a recent meeting with Vladimir Putin, Prince Bandar bin Sultan tried to urge the Russian President to withhold support from Assad’s regime. The Saudi Prince and intelligence leader reportedly offered Putin a multi-billion dollar arms deal, as well as guaranteed continued control over Europe’s oil supply.

Russia declined, but Russian and Lebanese reports have detailed other alleged incentives from Saudi Arabia. Russia’s relationship with Syria gives it a warm-water naval base on the Mediterranean, and Bandar promised to safeguard that even if Assad is removed from power. He also issued threats, according to those sources, including threatening the Russian Olympics next year.
“The Chechen groups which threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he said, adding that “We use them in the face of the Syrian regime, but they have no role or influence in Syria’s political future.” He said this to assuage any potential Russian concerns over helping the Chechen terrorists who have killed so many Russian civilians.

It’s worth noting that, as America backs the Saudis, and they back Al Qaida and the Chechen terrorists, through its relationship with the House of Saud, America is actually helping to fund terrorism against both Russia and itself. 

The moral implications are far greater than any inaction in Syria. Involvement in Syria will support Saudi Arabia more than it does anyone else in the region, or indeed the world.

The Russians have every right to be skeptical of the Saudis, just as the US has every right to be skeptical of Iran.
Unlike Eastern Europe, the Russian-American geopolitical games in the Middle East will have no positive impact on the region or its people. Both countries are acting as mere pawns for regional empires with no moral conviction in their relations with other nations, or even toward their own citizens. To support either is shortsighted and actively detrimental, and could easily lead to more of the long, drawn out conflicts both Russia and America have experienced in the region.

Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons.

Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons.HT: RussiaToday. 

 Probes from Khan al-Assal show chemicals used in the March 19 attack did not belong to standard Syrian army ammunition, and that the shell carrying the substance was similar to those made by a rebel fighter group, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

A statement released by the ministry on Wednesday particularly drew attention to the “massive stove-piping of various information aimed at placing the responsibility for the alleged chemical weapons use in Syria on Damascus, even though the results of the UN investigation have not yet been revealed.”


By such means “the way is being paved for military action” against Damascus, the ministry pointed out.

But the samples taken at the site of the March 19 attack and analyzed by Russian experts indicate that a projectile carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin was most likely fired at Khan al-Assal by the rebels, the ministry statement suggests, outlining the 100-page report handed over to the UN by Russia.

Details to follow.

Syrian regime warning Turkey and Jordan it would strike back in retaliation.

Syrian regime warning Turkey and jordan it would strike back in retaliation.(HD).

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad has warned Turkey to “think twice” before participating in a probable U.S.-led operation in Syria, saying the regime would strike back in retaliation.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, al-Mekdad said Damascus would strike back at Turkey along with Israel and Jordan if they took part in an operation against his country.

“We believe that any attack against Syria will definitely result in chaos in the entire region, if not beyond,” he said. He also said the regime was seeking dialogue and reconciliation with the U.S., while calling called on the Congress, which is currently considering a military strike, to “exercise wisdom,” warning that any attack against Syria would have grave consequences in the entire region.

The deputy foreign minister confirmed that the regime had been supplied up to now with Russian arms. “We have been supplied until this minute with Russian arms to defend ourselves,” al-Mekdad said.

In Ankara, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated Sept. 4 that Turkey would take part in any international coalition against Syria, but stopped short of saying whether that would include military action.

“We have said that we are ready to take part in any kind of coalition and we perceive this as a coalition of volunteers,” Erdoğan said without elaborating, shortly before leaving for the G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg.Hmmm.....Perhaps that's the whole idea, so that NATO can be dragged in?Since Turkey is willing to fight till the last American soldier.

Video - Iranian Official: Attacking Syria Will Lead to New Vietnam War against U.S., Israel, and Allies.

Video - Iranian Official: Attacking Syria Will Lead to New Vietnam War against U.S., Israel, and Allies.

Putin warns against military action against Syria, bypassing UNSC, if international law being violated will deliver S-300 systems

Putin warns against military action against Syria, bypassing UNSC, if international law being violated will deliver S-300 systems.HT: RussiaToday.

Speaking to journalists from Russia’s state Channel 1 television and Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a number of decisive statements regarding the supposed use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, which evoked a threat of a US-led strike on Syria.
“We believe that at the very least we should wait for the results of the UN inspection commission in Syria,” Putin said, adding that so far there is no information about what chemical agent exactly was used in the attack in Damascus’ suburbs and who did it.
“I’ve already said I find it absolutely ridiculous that [Syrian] government’s armed forces, which today are actually on an offense mission and in some regions have already encircled the so-called rebels and are finishing them off, that the Syrian army has used prohibited chemical weapons,” Putin said.

“They know all too well that this could become a cause for sanctions and even for a military operation against them. That’s stupid and illogical.”
“We proceed from the assumption that if anyone has information that chemical weapons were used by the Syrian regular army, then such proof must be presented to the UN Security Council and the UN inspectors,” Putin said, stressing that the proof must be “convincing” and not based on “rumors” or any sort of “eavesdropped intelligence data,” conversations etc.

“Even in the US there are experts who question the reliability of the facts presented by the administration. These experts do not exclude the possibility that the Syrian opposition has conducted a pre-planned provocation in order to give their sponsors a reason for military intervention,” he acknowledged.
Putin says he “does not exclude” that Russia may agree with a military operation if it is proved that the Syrian government is behind the attack, however he emphasized that in accordance with international law a decision of the UN Security Council is needed for that.
“All other reasons and means that excuse using military force against an independent sovereign state are unacceptable and cannot be classified otherwise but as an aggression,” Putin noted.
“We would be convinced by a detailed investigation and direct evidence of who exactly used chemical weapons and what substances were used. Then we’ll be ready to take decisive and serious action,” said the president.
Answering a question about video records of dead children that allegedly died in the chemical attack in Damascus, Vladimir Putin called the material with dead children “horrible”.
“The questions are what exactly was done and who is to blame. This video does not answer these questions,” Putin said, sharing an opinion that this video is a compilation made by the militants who – even the US acknowledges – have links with Al-Qaeda and are notorious for extreme atrocities.
Putin recommended to pay attention to the fact that in the video with dead children there are no parents, children’s relatives or even medical personnel, while people who do appear in the video remain unidentified. However terrible the picture could be, it cannot be proof of anybody’s guilt, Putin said, and called for investigation of the incident.
Russia is fulfilling arms contracts with Syria “because we believe that we are working with the legitimate government and we are violating neither international law, nor our obligations,” assured Putin, stressing that the UN had imposed no sanctions on the export of weapons to Syria.
He confirmed that Moscow has a signed contract with Damascus to deliver S-300 air defense missile complexes to Syria. The S-300 system is kind of outdated, said Putin, “though they might be a little better than Patriot missiles.”
Russia already has deployed S-400 and forthcoming S-500 systems, “[and] these are all certainly very efficient weapons,” Putin noted.

“We have a contract to supply S300 missiles, and we’ve already supplied some parts, but not all of it, because we decided to suspend the supplies for a while. But if we see international law being violated, we will reconsider our future actions, including supplies of such sensitive weapons to certain regions of the world,” he promised.

Iran's IRGC general: U.S., western states cause crisis on 4 key issues in region.

Iran's IRGC general: U.S., western states cause crisis on 4 key issues in region.(Taz).

The U.S. and other western states are causing crisis on four key issues in the region, Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said, Fars news agency reported.

Salami outlined the mentioned four key issues as - Islam, energy, geopolitics and security of Israel.

He went on to note that the U.S. is creating a structurized strategy on these four issues in the region.

Speaking about the Syrian crisis, Salami underscored that military solutions are not the way to solve the issue.

Salami noted that the United States, the Israeli regime and their regional allies have failed to reach their long-term objectives in the Middle East despite utilization of all their strategies.

Salami cautioned US and Western policymakers and security advisers that war on Syria will be "a very dangerous game", stressing that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and that Israel must reconsider its security strategies.

"War is never profitable. The U.S. must realize that if it decides to attack Syria, the spirit of Jihad among Muslims would increase," Salami underscored.

Some Western countries as well as Turkey have already supported intervention in Syria following another escalation of the situation there. On August 21, media outlets reported a large scale deployment of chemical weapons near Damascus by Syrian Government Troops. Over 600 people were the victims of the attack.

Earlier the US president declared that the use of chemical weapon is a 'red line' for the Assad regime. Media outlets also reported preparations of the Navy and Air Force of these countries to begin intervention.

Clashes between the government forces and armed opposition have been continuing in Syria for over two years.

According to UN statistics, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria is more than 100,000 people. The Syrian authorities say they are opposed by well-armed militants.

FSA: "Syrian regime has moved its warheads in three convoys and may use them in new chemical attacks."

FSA: "Syrian regime has moved its warheads in three convoys and may use them in new chemical attacks."(HD).
The Syrian regime has moved its warheads in three convoys and may use them in new chemical attacks, the opposition Syrian National Coalition’s spokesperson Khalid Saleh said today.

“We know that three convoys carrying chemical warheads have moved from Hudayfa to three locations in Syria,” Saleh told a group of journalists in Istanbul on Sept. 3.

“We are afraid that this move might be a preparation for new chemical attacks in Syria,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that he did not believe that the move had been made in order to hide the weapons.

Saleh said the convoys had moved within the last 24 or 36 hours. He said one of the three locations to which the weapons were carried is the Dhuair military airport, while the second location is Izri’ in the province of Daraa. “We do not have concrete information for the destination of the third convoy,” he added.

Abdel Tawwab Sharour, the former head of the forensic medicine department in Aleppo, recently defected from the regime, but failed to appear at the Istanbul press conference due to “security concerns.” Saleh said Sharour held documents showing how the Syrian regime dealt with crimes in Aleppo, and would release them within the next two weeks.

Shahrour had documents proving that a chemical weapons attack took place and eye-witness accounts from police authorities that contradicted the administration's version of events, a second opposition official said.

The attack at Khan al-Assal in the northern province of Aleppo in March killed more than two dozen people. Both the government and rebels have blamed each other for what they say was an attack involving chemical weapons. Read the full story here.

Video - OBAMA'S WAR GAMES.

Video - OBAMA'S WAR GAMES.Ezra Levant breaks down US President Barack Obama's dangerous fumbling of the march to war with Syria. HT: SunNewsNetwork.

Intercepted Hezbollah phone conversation: "Assad lost his nerves and ordered the chemical weapons attack."

Intercepted Hezbollah phone conversation: "Assad lost his nerves and ordered the chemical weapons attack."HT: Spiegel.

Germany Offers Clue in Search for Truth in Syria. By Matthias Gebauer

Germany has said in no uncertain terms that it will not participate in a strike on Syria without the backing of the United Nations Security Council. But the country's foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), agrees with the US position which holds Syrian President Bashar Assad responsible for the poison gas attacks near Damascus on Aug. 21. In a secret briefing to select lawmakers on Monday, BND head Gerhard Schindler said that while there is still no incontestable proof, analysis of the evidence at hand has led his intelligence service to believe that Assad's regime is to blame.

During his 30-minute presentation, Schindler offered up scenarios to explain why the Assad regime resorted to chemical weapons use, including, he said, the possibility that Assad sees himself involved in a crucial battle for Damascus. The city is besieged by rebel groups, with particular pressure coming from the east. Schindler believes it is possible that the regime ordered the use of poison gas as a way of intimidating the rebels. It could also be the case that errors were made in mixing the gas and it was much more potent than anticipated, he said.
The analysis presented by the BND is similar to that produced by the US. The American report holds that the poisonous gas was delivered via several small missiles that can be fired from mobile launch units. Casings found at the scenes of the gas attacks indicate that they were 107 mm rockets, which the regime possesses in large numbers. Schindler emphasized that the rebels are unable to carry out such a concerted attack.

Schindler also presented an additional clue, one that has not thus far been made public.

He said that the BND listened in on a conversation between a high-ranking member of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which supports Assad and provides his regime with military assistance, and the Iranian Embassy. The Hezbollah functionary, Schindler reported, seems to have admitted that poison gas was used. He said that Assad lost his nerves and made a big mistake by ordering the chemical weapons attack.Read the full story here.

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