Thread: Syria attack: US 'deliberately avoided bombing sarin stockpile at Assad airbase' duri

Syria attack: US 'deliberately avoided bombing sarin stockpile at Assad airbase' during Trump air strikes

Syrian government and Russia deny chemical weapons were used in Idlib attack

Lizzie Dearden
3 days ago

A stockpile of sarin was being held at the Syrian airbase targeted by US air strikes following a chemical attack, American officials have said.

Dozens of cruise missiles were fired from two American warships stationed in the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of Friday morning, days after more than 70 people died in a rebel-held town.

They hit Shayrat airbase in the province of Homs, killing at least six of Bashar al-Assad’s troops and destroying planes, ammunition stores and buildings.

Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Herbert “HR” McMaster, told a press conference the attack aimed to reduce the airfield’s ability to “continue mass murder attacks against Syrian civilians”.

“There were measures put in place to avoid hitting what we believe is a storage of sarin gas, so that that would not be ignited and cause a hazard to civilians or anyone else,” he said.

Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, said the administration had a “very high level of confidence” that the massacre in Khan Sheikhoun was carried out by Assad’s forces using sarin, which is banned as a weapon of mass destruction under international law.

Doctors said victims started to choke, vomit and convulse with foam coming out of their mouths and pin-point pupils, showing symptoms of exposure to the nerve agent, with analysts from international charities supporting the claims.

Assad’s government claims it destroyed its stockpiles of sarin following an international agreement struck in 2013, when the nerve agent was used to kill hundreds of civilians in Ghouta and almost sparked international intervention against the Syrian regime.

Its ally Russia also claims Syria no longer possesses or uses chemical weapons, and claimed the toxic gas that killed civilians in Khan Sheikhoun emanated from a rebel warehouse that was struck by legitimate air strikes.

Rebels denied the Russian defence ministry’s claims, while experts told The Independent they were not credible.

Beyza Unal, a research fellow with the International Security Department at Chatham House, said sarin is expensive and difficult to purify and store.

“Something that needs a certain level of expertise and also money,” she told The Independent, saying any facility would need the ability to take oxygen out of the area where sarin is stored.

“I don’t think rebel groups would have the ability governments would have to purify nerve agents to a level that would make them stable,” Dr Unal added.

The United States military launched at least 50 tomahawk cruise missiles at al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs, Syria, in response to the Syrian military's alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in a rebel held area in Idlib province (EPA)

“I don’t buy the Russian claims…the story doesn’t add up.”

She added that images of bomb craters in Khan Sheikhoun indicated small payloads, rather than explosives of the type typically used to destroy an entire building.

American officials said the attack was traced to Shayrat airbase, with Mr Tillerson describing it as “the facility that delivered” the bombardment.

The Syrian army said at least six soldiers were killed, with state media reporting the additional deaths of at least seven civilians, including four children.

Russia was among the countries that also used the base, but the US warned Vladimir Putin’s forces ahead of the strike and none of the Kremlin’s troops were killed.

A spokesman for Vladimir Putin said the strike had seriously damaged ties between Washington and Moscow, which has pledged to increase the Syrian government’s air defences and suspended an agreement aiming to avoid conflict with US forces.

Mr Trump announced he had ordered the attack, calling Assad a “dictator” who had “launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians”.

“Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched,” the President added.

“It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.”

Critics voiced their shock over the abrupt decision, days after senior American officials said Assad’s removal was no longer a priority, and pointed at Mr Trump’s previous assertions that a President would have to get Congressional approval to attack Syria.

Mr Tillerson said the strike was not “an emotional reaction” by the President, adding: “He came to the conclusion that we could not, yet again, turn away and turn a blind eye to what’s happened.”

The attack was a “one-off,” a US defence official told Reuters, meaning it was expected to be a single strike with no current plans for escalation.

Syrian state television hit out at “American aggression”, while Assad’s ally Iran also denounced the attack as a “destructive violation of international law”.

But the UK, Israel and other American allies joined the Syrian opposition welcomed the strikes.

It is the only direct action against the Syrian government taken by the US in the six-year civil war, where international attention has increasingly been drawn to the threat of Isis.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7672126.html

I am so disappointed and frightened by this.

The whole idea of our being involved in Syria is just wrong, and this 'chemical warfare' - haven't we been there, done that, and lost thousands of Americans, untold innocent Iraqis and trillions of dollars, all based on made up stories???

Well, anyone paying attention to the videos and the so-called victims statements know something is very wrong with the stories. It was obvious to me. If you research Sarin gas, the victim's statements are false about odors and colors and burning of the skin. Sarin gas doesn't burn the skin. Sarin liquid doesn't even burn the skin. You wash it off to prevent absorption or breathing the odorless fumes of it. So when victim's statements on rebel videos are false, then that's an immediate red flag that the whole thing or major portions of it are false and fabricated and it's time to beware and cautious.

Trump isn't an idiot. He can tell a phony video from a real one. So,I think he hit Syria as part of a game plan for something else, something bigger, something coming soon. Something only he knows. Haley and Tillerson aren't even in on it. McNaster and Mattis aren't even in the know. No one knows except Trump, because he knows he can't trust anyone on this one to keep their mouths shut.

That's my speculation.

Originally Posted by nntrixie

I am so disappointed and frightened by this.

The whole idea of our being involved in Syria is just wrong, and this 'chemical warfare' - haven't we been there, done that, and lost thousands of Americans, untold innocent Iraqis and trillions of dollars, all based on made up stories???

Don't worry nntrixie. Trump isn't going into Syria. He's never going into one of these places no matter how much the military and McCain want him to. He's got bigger fish to fry.

Originally Posted by nntrixie

I am so disappointed and frightened by this.

The whole idea of our being involved in Syria is just wrong, and this 'chemical warfare' - haven't we been there, done that, and lost thousands of Americans, untold innocent Iraqis and trillions of dollars, all based on made up stories???

Specifically what made up stories are you referring to?

Originally Posted by Judy

Well, anyone paying attention to the videos and the so-called victims statements know something is very wrong with the stories. It was obvious to me. If you research Sarin gas, the victim's statements are false about odors and colors and burning of the skin. Sarin gas doesn't burn the skin. Sarin liquid doesn't even burn the skin. You wash it off to prevent absorption or breathing the odorless fumes of it. So when victim's statements on rebel videos are false, then that's an immediate red flag that the whole thing or major portions of it are false and fabricated and it's time to beware and cautious.

Trump isn't an idiot. He can tell a phony video from a real one. So,I think he hit Syria as part of a game plan for something else, something bigger, something coming soon. Something only he knows. Haley and Tillerson aren't even in on it. McNaster and Mattis aren't even in the know. No one knows except Trump, because he knows he can't trust anyone on this one to keep their mouths shut.

That's my speculation.

So President Donald Trump lied to the American people???

He based his action and statements on "INTEL" and news reports. So no that would not be a lie by the President. A President unfortunately has no way to prove "INTEL" is wrong. He would need his own private "INTEL" group to root out bad "INTEL" and we don't have that available to a President. As to news reports, were they "fake news"? I think so, I think anyone looking at them with any care or scrutiny would conclude they were "fake", however, with "INTEL" backing them up, you go with the "INTEL" if it serves your purpose, which in this case, it did.

Again, I'm just speculating. But I think I'm right about the "attack" and the airstrike in response. It was a means to a greater end and had nothing to do with Syria.

We'll know soon. Stay tuned.

Originally Posted by Judy

Well, anyone paying attention to the videos and the so-called victims statements know something is very wrong with the stories. It was obvious to me. If you research Sarin gas, the victim's statements are false about odors and colors and burning of the skin. Sarin gas doesn't burn the skin. Sarin liquid doesn't even burn the skin. You wash it off to prevent absorption or breathing the odorless fumes of it. So when victim's statements on rebel videos are false, then that's an immediate red flag that the whole thing or major portions of it are false and fabricated and it's time to beware and cautious.

Trump isn't an idiot. He can tell a phony video from a real one. So,I think he hit Syria as part of a game plan for something else, something bigger, something coming soon. Something only he knows. Haley and Tillerson aren't even in on it. McNaster and Mattis aren't even in the know. No one knows except Trump, because he knows he can't trust anyone on this one to keep their mouths shut.

That's my speculation.

I agree that the claims about using chem weapons by the Syrians is probably bogus, but I don't think Trump possesses some secret brilliant plan either. Remember his press release about the event? It was all about the babies, the beautiful innocent babies, from his own lips. And if he later thought this was a mistake, it doesn't show in the latest press conference Spencer reiterated that the babies were the red line that Assad had crossed.

Babies, babies babies. We keep seeing it over and over again that it is a Muslim strategy of war against modern Christendom to put its own women and children in harm's way for the precise reason of provoking the public's conscience and dulling its perceptions about what is going on when they get hurt or killed. The Palestinians use it to great effect, that coupled with our own antisemitism make's it impossible for Israelis to defend their own people even on a daily basis. And we have seen numerous media frauds where Muslims recycle images of dead children in new combat situations to the same end.

Really, whenever some fool waves dead babies under our noses as if this were the one thing we must always react to in some predictable way we have to slow down real fast and look to see what is really going on, especially when they are Muslims. It is a real embarrassment that our president could be so clueless.

Maybe that's why nothing is being done about DACA, it's all about the babies.

Originally Posted by Judy

He based his action and statements on "INTEL" and news reports. So no that would not be a lie by the President. A President unfortunately has no way to prove "INTEL" is wrong. He would need his own private "INTEL" group to root out bad "INTEL" and we don't have that available to a President. As to news reports, were they "fake news"? I think so, I think anyone looking at them with any care or scrutiny would conclude they were "fake", however, with "INTEL" backing them up, you go with the "INTEL" if it serves your purpose, which in this case, it did.

Again, I'm just speculating. But I think I'm right about the "attack" and the airstrike in response. It was a means to a greater end and had nothing to do with Syria.

We'll know soon. Stay tuned.

Sort of like President George Bush, huh? Well, there actually were WMD's in Iraq.

I do believe chemical weapons were used by Assad. Actually, I'd say the evidence is pretty overwhelming. Therefore, I guess it is also possible there were chemical weapons stored at the airbase that we bombed. Not sure on that though. McMaster's made it sound like he wasn't even 100% sure.

No, very different than Bush in Iraq. We're not invading Syria. McCain and Graham can get all giddy about that possibility, but that will never happen. Trump isn't going to spend a cent more on Syria. He only did the airstrike to send a broad message about chemical weapons and other types of weapons.

McMaster's made it sound like he wasn't even 100% sure.

LOL!! Exactly. So consider that. They airstrike an airbase they believe stores Sarin gas they load onto planes and then drop on civilians. They try to avoid where they think they are stored to protect civilians. Well, if the Sarin gas was stored at the airbase but they were wrong about where it was stored, then we could have released pounds and pounds and pounds of Sarin gas into the environment and killed thousands of people. SURELY, we would not have taken such a risk, eh?

So either they knew exactly where it was stored and successfully avoided it (which means somebody knew they had Sarin gas when Obama said it was all destroyed) or there wasn't any Sarin gas stored at this airbase at all, which blows the whole story about Assad being responsible for a "chemical attack".

Trump would have never ordered an attack on an airbase where Sarin gas was stored. I don't think he would have ordered the airstrike if he knew EXACTLY where the Sarin gas was stored because as accurate as the Tomahawk has proved to me, you would be risking thousands of lives on the possibility of an miscalculation and there were 1 or 2 of the missiles that didn't function properly.

So, if you want my opinion, our INTEL community is in deep doo doo and the boomerang is about to land in their laps.