Syrian Gas: Whodunit?

Evidence Calls Western Narrative About Syrian Chemical Attack Into Question

William Craddick
April 6, 2017

(Prior to the recent chemical weapons release in northwest Syria) the White House backed comments Tillerson and ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley made stating that the United States would no longer primarily focus on regime change in Syria. …

(And) the Syrian government has been making serious gains in the civil war … with the support of the Russian Federation. It is strategically counterintuitive to assume that Bashar al-Assad would engage in a chemical attack on Syrians just one week after figures in the American government expressed the opinion that they would be willing to allow him to remain in power. …

(But now) the April 4th, 2017 incident at Khan Sheikhoun has provoked an emotional response around the world (and) Donald Trump has stated that the attack has totally changed his views towards the Syrian civil war … .

Although Western media immediately accused Bashar al-Assad of participating in a gas attack against his own people, the evidence indicates that the intended target was not immediately in a civilian area and was in fact a location where Syrian White Helmets were on the scene with rebel groups at what observers have claimed was a storage facility for conventional and chemical munitions (Al-Masdar News). Additionally, evidence indicates that rebel groups may have had prior knowledge of the attack and knew that there was a risk of chemical weapons being unleashed. The attack also came in the aftermath of a trip by Senator John McCain to meet with groups known to associate with radical jihadist factions in Syria … .

On April 3rd, 2017, an anti-Assad journalist tweeted that the next day he would be launching a media campaign to cover airstrikes on the Hama countryside, including the use of chemical weapons. It is not clear how the reporter was able to know that chemical weapons would be used an entire day before the attacks occurred. …

Observers further noted that on April 1st, 2017, a doctor on the ground in Khan Sheikhoun, Dr. Shajul Islam, had received several shipments of gas masks in the days running up to the chemical incident. … Daily Mail has reported that Dr. Shajul Islam was at one point sought by the British government in connection with the abduction of two journalists in Syria, and security services have stated that Islam and his brother may have had ties to ISIS executioner “Jihadi John.” …

Image released by the Syrian White Helmets which shows rescue workers handling victims with their bare hands and inadequate gas masks, undermining claims of sarin usage

Disobedient Media has reported in January that the Syrian White Helmets are heavily supported by the United State government via USAID, are implicated in war crimes committed in Aleppo and other parts of Syria during the civil war and appear to have a large number of members who are involved with local Syrian militia groups and jihadist organizations. The White Helmets have also been caught staging rescue footage for propaganda purposes in the past. …

The Russian Ministry of Defense have stated that the release of any chemicals was a result of a Syrian government airstrike against rebel supply depots in the area where chemical arms were being produced. … Rebels Are Known To Have Possessed And Used Chemical Weapons In Syria For Some Time … .

The chemical attack also appears to play into the ongoing power struggle between the American political establishment and members of the new Trump administration. … President Trump had until this week been apparently unwilling to prosecute the United States’ stated goal of enacting regime change in Syria … .

The United States politicians who have taken funds from countries known to supply rebel groups with materials for the production of chemical weapons were also meeting with rebel factions who are reported to associate with jihadist groups in the run up to the attack. … Disobedient Media has … reported that in 2014, McCain accepted a donation of $1 million from Saudi Arabia. The CEO of Al-Masdar News, Leith Abou Fadel, recently posted images on Twitter in April 2017 showing Saudi-made chlorine agents found in East Aleppo which were being used to create chemical bombs. … On February 22nd, 2017, CNN reported that McCain had made a secret trip to northern Syria the week prior. McCain’s made the trip despite the fact that since late 2015, the Western media has finally admitted that there were no longer any “moderate” rebel groups in Syria. In January 2017, Representative Tusli Gabbard returned from a visit to Syria to confirm these reports, as well as to reveal that U.S. support was effectively delivering arms to jihadist groups such as al-Nusra, al-Qaida, Ahrar al-Sham and ISIS who are operating inside Syria. McCain claimed to be meeting with forces who are preparing to combat ISIS in Eastern Syria, but The Guardian has reported that these groups are mainly comprised of mercenaries who have and will fight for jihadist groups if the price is right. … The now common knowledge that there are no “moderate” rebels remaining in Syria raises serious questions about the true nature of McCain’s secret missions he has embarked on in the country over the past few years. …

(All this) serves to create further concerns that factions of the United States government are illicitly attempting to promote confrontation and drive increased U.S. military involvement in Syria.

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