Russia stated that they had an important evidence regarding the chemical attack in the capital of Syria, Damascus, in the 21st of August: The sarin gas that was used in the attack, according to Russia, was not produced in a professional laboratory; it’s a home-made gas and its content is the same as the one that was used in the village of Khan al Assal in Aleppo in the 19th of March.
Evidence Transmitted to the US
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, in an interview with the Washington Post, of the US, stated that he soon transmitted the aforementioned evidence to his American counterpart John Kerry.
The proof of the sarin gas used in the East Ghouta of Damascus to have the same content as the one used in Khan al-Assal is an important sign that the opponents carried out the attack in Damascus. It’s thought that the attack in Khan al-Assal was carried out by al-Nusra Front.
Syria had Stated: “Come to Aleppo for Investigation”
The Syrian government had requested the UN (United Nations) to send a fact-finding group after the chemical attack in Khan al-Assal in the 19th of March. Lavrov, reminded that due to the repression o some of the members of the UN Security Council, the fact-finding group was not sent, thereupon Russia investigated the issue and filed the report on the findings to the Security Council.
The Russian Minister of Affairs said “The main conclusion is that the type of sarin used in that incident was homemade. We also have evidence to assert that the type of sarin used in August 21 (in Damascus) was the same, only of higher concentration.”
Turkey was Clearly Mentioned
The Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, in his speech in the general assembly of the UN, characterized the attack in Damascus as a “provocation” and he called attention to the custody of the Syrian militants who were caught with sarin gas in Turkey in May and to the attempt of some Syrian and Turkish citizens to buy 10 tons of compositions for production of chemical weapons. The words of Churkin were interpreted as a hint that Turkey had role in the attack in Damascus.
Fine Hints
Sergei Lavrov, in his interview at the American journal, drew attention to the words of the opponent militants that “we’re given extraordinary rockets and ammunition by a foreign country but we don’t know how to use them” at the place where the attack occurred in Damascus. Lavrov didn’t mention a country in this sentence, however, recall of these words seems to be, once again, the hint of the Russia’s “Foreign country has hand in this issue.”
The real strong claim is hidden in another sentence. Lavrov stated that “We also know about an open letter sent to President Obama by former operatives of the CIA and the Pentagon saying that the assertion that (Syrian) the government that used the chemical weapons was a fake.”
Letters from Agents to Obama
The aforementioned letter was sent on behalf of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) with the title “Is Syria a trap?” The letter, giving several details, claimed that the attack was planned in Turkey.
Hence, Lavrov, once again, ended up by accusing Turkey regarding the chemical attack in Damascus, though more implicitly compared to Churkin. The daily soL Newspaper was published with the headline “Erdoğan might be judged for chemicals” and probed this claim that circulated in the diplomatic backstage after the accusations of Russia and Iran. In the aforementioned news, it was reminded that in an intelligence report leaked from Pentagon, there was information that the sarin gas that was used in Syria was produced in Iraq and smuggled to Syria through Turkey by al-Qaeda.
The US government was wrong footed in foreign politics after the attack in Damascus since there was no foreign intervention to Syria, contrary to what he expected. The fact that little interest is shown to the President Abdullah Gül during his visit to the US for the UN General Assembly is related to this situation. The increasing data on the claim that Turkey is behind the chemical attack might result in Turkey’s being accused in international arena.
CIA Agents Accused Turkey
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, in his interview with the Washington Post, stated that “We also know about an open letter sent to President Obama by former operatives of the CIA.” In the aforementioned letter, it was claimed that the chemical attack that was carried out in Damascus in the 21st of August was planned in Turkey.
The letter was signed by 12 retired agents among which there are Philip Giraldi, a former operations officer, and
|
Thomas Drake, a former senior executive of NSA. The letter stated to Obama that “There’s no evidence at the hands of the US that the chemical attack was carried out by Syria, you’re deceived.”
The parts of the letter concerning Turkey is as such:
“We have learned that in August 13-14, 2013, Western-sponsored opposition forces in Turkey started advance preparations for a major, irregular military surge. Initial meetings between senior opposition military commanders and Qatari, Turkish and U.S. intelligence officials took place at the converted Turkish military garrison in Antakya, Hatay Province, now used as the command center and headquarters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and their foreign sponsors.”
“Senior opposition commanders who came from Istanbul pre-briefed the regional commanders on an imminent escalation in the fighting due to ‘a war-changing development,’ which, in turn, would lead to a U.S.-led bombing of Syria.”
“At operations coordinating meetings at Antakya, attended by senior Turkish, Qatari and U.S. intelligence officials as well as senior commanders of the Syrian opposition, the Syrians were told that the bombing would start in a few days. Opposition leaders were ordered to prepare their forces quickly to exploit the U.S. bombing, march into Damascus, and remove the Bashar al-Assad government.”
“The Qatari and Turkish intelligence officials assured the Syrian regional commanders that they would be provided with plenty of weapons for the coming offensive. And they were. A weapons distribution operation unprecedented in scope began in all opposition camps in August 21-23. The weapons were distributed from storehouses controlled by Qatari and Turkish intelligence under the tight supervision of U.S. intelligence officers.”
Khan al-Assal is Attempted to be Whitewashed
The chemical attack that took place in the town Khan al-Assal of Aleppo on which Russia stated that “same type of homemade sarin gas was used as the one used in Damascus” is tried to be whitewashed.
After the attack Syria had invited the UN for investigation but the US had prevented this. In June Russia filed a comprehensive report regarding the attack to the UN. Thereupon the UN fact-finding group came to Syria in August in order to investigate Khan al-Assal and other allegations. Among the other allegations was investigating the chemical substances that are thought to have come from Saudi Arabia.
When the group was in Damascus, there was a chemical attack in East Ghouta and a big massacre took place in 21st of August. Thereupon, allies like the US and Turkey requested the group to examine the new attack in East Ghouta but not the others. The very day the opponents stated that “they would not let the group in Khan al-Assal”.
When the group was making investigations in East Ghouta the US had to hastily depart from Syria without stopping by the other places since the US said “we’ll attack”.
In the mean time the opponents announced several times that they won’t let the group in Khan al-Assal. After Syria’s persistence, the UN group went back to Damascus to investigate the allegations. The group hasn’t been to Khan al-Assal yet.
Allegations in line with Adana Indictment
Russia’s allegation that “The type of homemade sarin used in Damascus is the same as the one used in Aleppo” is in line with Adana Indictment, whose details have been brought to the agenda by soL.
In May, a group that was related to the al-Nusra Front, which is under the control of al-Qaeda, was captured with chemicals used in production for sarin gas in Adana (Turkey). The indictment, regarding the incident, prepared by Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was given as a news with the headline “The traces of the ones who used chemical weapons are in Adana” on the daily soL.
According to the indictment, the person in charge of the network, Heysam Kassab, is related to al-Nusra Front and Liwa al-Islam. Al-Nusra is suspected of the attack in Khan al-Assal of Aleppo.
The East Ghouta Region, where the attack was carried out, is under the control of Liwa al-Islam. The organization is acting in accordance with al-Nusra in the region.
Yiğit Günay - soL
Translated by Ozan Ekin
|
International Network for Justice
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment