More fake news from the AP. Easy to spot, meant to push the war in Syria agenda further.
The recipe for this AP fake news propaganda is simple to call out...
- First paragraph says US made a "preliminary conclusion"...but has no proof.
- Fourth paragraph says "the official wasn't authorized to speak publicly on intelligence matters."
- The official "demanded anonymity."
- The official could not provide details for the military and intelligence information.
- The article makes the claim, as fact, that Syria or Russia is behind the chemical attack, with no investigation ever taking place. Judge and jury....and sentence is already handed down.
- Last paragraphs bring in the military official to add weight to the story (Col. John J. Thomas).
The AP story has already been dismissed by the White House. Via The Hill...
The Associated Press reported Monday that the United States determined that Russia knew about last week's chemical attack on a town in Syria beforehand.But in a Monday evening statement, a senior administration official disputed that report.
"At this time, there is no U.S. Intelligence Community consensus that Russia had foreknowledge of the Syrian chemical attack," the official said.This has not stopped all major western mainstream media outlets from disseminating this AP fake news post.
Via Google News Search...
U.S. Senator John McCain accused Russia on Monday of having cooperated with Syrian government forces in a chemical weapons attack that has killed more than 80 people, including more than a dozen children.Here the dangerous propaganda piece published by the AP...
The Republican senator said at a press conference in Belgrade that he believes "the Russians knew about chemical weapons because they were operating exactly from the same base."
He said the U.S. launched cruise missile strikes last week against the Syrian base "in a response of a chemical attack."
"I hope that this behavior by Syria, in what clearly is cooperation with Russia and Syria together, will never happen again," he said.
McCain said the U.S. should take out Syria's air force as part of stopping Syrian President Bashar Assad from repeating such attacks in the future.
"I would prevent Bashar Assad from flying from his airfields if he doesn't renounce the use of these weapons," the former American airman said. "The United States should first tell Russia that this kind of a war crime is unacceptable in the world today."
The United States has made a preliminary conclusion that Russia knew in advance of Syria's chemical weapons attack last week, but has no proof of Moscow's involvement, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
The official said that a drone operated by Russians was flying over a hospital as victims of the attack were rushing to get treatment. Hours after the drone left, a Russian-made fighter jet bombed the hospital in what American officials believe was an attempt to cover up the usage of chemical weapons.
The U.S. official said the presence of the surveillance drone over the hospital couldn't have been a coincidence, and that Russia must have known the chemical weapons attack was coming and that victims were seeking treatment.
The official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on intelligence matters and demanded anonymity, didn't give precise timing for when the drone was in the area, where more than 80 people were killed. The official also didn't provide details for the military and intelligence information that form the basis of what the Pentagon now believes.
Another U.S. official cautioned that no final American determination has been made that Russia knew ahead of time that chemical weapons would be used. That official wasn't authorized to speak about internal administration deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The allegation of Russian foreknowledge is grave, even by the standards of the currently dismal U.S.-Russian relations.
Although Russia has steadfastly supported Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, and they've coordinated military attacks together, Washington has never previously asserted that Moscow was complicit in any attack that involved the gassing of innocent civilians, including children. The former Cold War foes even worked together in 2013 to remove and destroy more than 1,300 tons of Syrian chemical weapons and agents.
Until Monday, U.S. officials had said they weren't sure whether Russia or Syria operated the drone. The official said the U.S. is now convinced Russia controlled the drone. The official said it still isn't clear who was flying the jet that bombed the hospital, because the Syrians also fly Russian-made aircraft.
U.S. officials previously have said Russians routinely work with Syrians at the Shayrat air base where the attack is supposed to have originated. U.S. officials say the chemical weapons were stored there and that those elements add to the conclusion that Russia was involved.
Last Thursday 59 Tomahawk missiles were fired on the government-controlled base in the United States' first direct military action against Assad's forces.
The U.S. has been focusing its military action in Syria on defeating the Islamic State group.
On Monday, Col. John J. Thomas, a U.S. military spokesman, said the U.S. has taken extra defensive precautions in Syria in case of possible retaliation against American forces for the cruise missile attack.
Thomas told reporters at the Pentagon that the increased emphasis on defensive measures to protect U.S. troops on the ground in Syria led to a slight and temporary decline in offensive U.S. airstrikes against IS in Syria.
There has been no Syrian retaliation so far for the cruise missile attack, which destroyed or rendered inoperable more than 20 Syria air force planes, he said.
Thomas said the U.S. intends to return to full offensive air operations against IS as soon as possible.
Comment: 'Preliminary allegations with no proof' - to most people that's just fancy talk for 'BS'. In further news, Sputnik reports that the US Intelligence Community hasn't reached a consensus on how, or if, they should 'catapult' this latest propaganda: