WMDs All Over Again: Tillerson accuses Syrian government of 'barbarism' for chemical weapons attack in Idlib

RT
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:34 UTC

© Ammar Abdullah / Reuters

Idlib, Syria, April 4, 2017

Condemning the chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused the Syrian government of "barbarism" and said Russia and Iran also bear moral responsibility for the deaths.

In a statement of Tuesday afternoon, Tillerson pointed the finger at Damascus, saying that "it is clear that this is how Bashar Assad operates: with brutal, unabashed barbarism."

"Anyone who uses chemical weapons to attack his own people shows a fundamental disregard for human decency and must be held accountable," Tillerson said.

He called on Russia and Iran to exercise their influence over Damascus "to guarantee that this sort of horrific attack never happens again," and said that they "also bear great moral responsibility" for the deaths, as self-proclaimed guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire.

The attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun reportedly killed 58 people, including 11 children under the age of eight, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the US/UK-sponsored 'White Helmets' rescue group.

Comment: The first clue that these reports are suspect are the sources; any reports coming from either of these two purveyors of western propaganda should be taken with a huge grain of salt:

• White Helmets' fake news in Syria, supervised by the British Intelligence Agency, funded by Soros
• Propaganda spin cycle: 'Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' is funded by US and UK governments

White House press secretary Sean Spicer called the attack "reprehensible" and that it "cannot be ignored by the civilized world."

Spicer also blamed former administration under President Barack Obama for its "weakness and irresolution."

"President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a quote-unquote 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing," Spicer said.

Syrian opposition member and former spokesperson of the Syrian National Council Bassma Kodmani called the chemical attack a "direct consequence" of US statements on Syrian President Bashar Assad, Reuters reported.

The Syrian army has denied allegations that it was behind the attack.

Comment: The Syrian government denied using chemical weapons, saying that the military does not use them because it does not have them in the first place: Syrian army denies involvement as dozens reported killed in alleged gas attack

"We deny completely the use of any chemical or toxic material in Khan Sheikhoun town today and the army has not used nor will use in any place or time, neither in past or in future," the army said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

The Russian air force did not conduct any airstrikes in the Idlib Governorate.

"Based on the reports it might be that the Syrian Army targeted a place that was used as a chemical weapons factory or that stocked chemicals by the rebels," Jamal Wakeem, a professor of history and international relations at the Lebanese University in Beirut, told RT.

Wakeem said he doesn't believe the Syrian Army would be so "desperate" as to use chemical weapons, given the fact that it has been "achieving major success on various fronts."

He went on to state that although rebels have previously accused the Syrian government and Russian military of using chemical weapons, that news "turned out to be false," noting that there was instead evidence that rebels had used chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq.

Comment: OPWC report: U.S.-backed rebels used chemical weapons, not Bashar al-Assad

Rebels and Western governments have repeatedly accused Damascus of using chemical weapons since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. In 2012, the Obama administration said it would launch a military intervention if Assad crossed the "red line" and used gas against the rebels. Russia defused the situation by convincing Damascus to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and destroying its arsenal by 2013.

Comment: Jumping to conclusions: The 'official version' of Idlib gas attack stinks to high heaven

With the Syrian Army and its allies in a comfortable position in Syria, making advances across the country, and recovering lost points in rural Hama, why would they now resort to using chemical weapons? It is a very simple question with no clear answer. It defies any logic that on the eve of a Syria conference in Brussels and a week before peace negotiations are to resume, that the Syrian government would blatantly use chemical weapons. All evidence suggests this is another false chemical attack allegation made against the government as seen in the Khan-al-Assal 2013 attack where the terrorist groups hoped that former President Obama's "red-line" would be crossed leading to US-intervention in Syria against the government.