"A journey in search for the truth."

Submitted by CB on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 6:00am

Here is a superb, well documented 5-part expose on the true history of Syria and how it became a target for regime change by the western nations through manipulation and deceit by TPTB and their controlled media. It was written by Bas Spliet.

It is a very lengthy document but well worth the time spent.

The proxy war on Syria – part 1: The Syrian conflict in historical perspective
In April 2016, the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, estimated the death toll of the Syrian crisis to be as high as 400.000.[1] Most people in the West appear to be pretty confused. The major Western news outlets are telling them that all this suffering has been caused by a brutal dictator that refused to step down when thousands if not millions of Syrians took to the streets to demand democracy. Yet, at the same time, fragments of atrocities committed by foreign-backed opposition fighters occasionally reach their television screens. Nevertheless, they are told that however ruthless the armed opposition may be, supplying these insurgents with even more weapons is the best the West can do to help the Syrian people. After five years of relentless warfare, these alleged democracy-seeking revolutionaries – armed with sophisticated weaponry, joined by hordes of foreign fighters and supposedly having the full support of the Syrian people – still have not succeeded in overthrowing Assad, however. Doesn’t this all appear very strange and even contradictory? And if so, isn’t it our duty to humanity to find out what is really going on, even if there is but a tiny chance that there is more to the story? We all know it would not be the first time that we would be deceived into supporting a war that serves no one but a small but powerful elite. In this five-part series, I will try to dismantle all this confusion and take you on a journey in search for the truth.
...

The proxy war on Syria – part 2: The two myths about the armed opposition

According to the mainstream media narrative, the Syrian people finally rose up against an oppressive Alawite dictatorship which brutally ruled Syria for four decades after similar popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt had let to the ousting of Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak. Assad, however, refused to step down and brutally cracked down on enormous peaceful demonstrations. After six months of oppression, the opposition decided to pick up arms, thereby starting a civil war. Although today this armed opposition is enforced by jihadi elements, it still has the full support of the Syrian people, and its main goal still constitutes of replacing dictatorship with democracy. The dominant view of the armed opposition thus revolves around two premises: 1) that the uprising was initially peaceful, and 2) that it is mainly let, to this day, by moderate revolutionaries. Let’s examine these premises.
...

The proxy war on Syria – part 3: Does Assad “kill his own people?” Deconstructing the “Assad must go” narrative

In part 2 we have exposed the fallacy that “moderate democracy-seeking rebels” were forced to take up arms after “peaceful protests were cracked down by Assad’s loyalists.” In reality, without the Western and Gulf monarchies’ arming and financing of the jihadis, who hijacked the Arab Spring protests from the very beginning, there simply would not have been a war. Fortunately, more and more people are reaching this level of understanding. Yet, at this point, while acknowledging the crimes of the armed opposition, there is still a very large consensus that at the same time, Assad is “killing his own people.” Moved by powerful clips like those of the White Helmets and Qatari-funded AJ+, the Western public is to believe that the Syrian people need saving from the hands of a ruthless dictator.

In a twisted use of the “responsibility to protect” doctrine, our Western leaders are therefore trying to convince the world that, in order to save the Syrian people, “Assad must go.” And as the Western masses are reluctant to boots on the ground, this means giving even more finances and weapons to the “moderate” terrorists. But hold on a second, wasn’t there hardly any support for these alleged moderates among Syrians? Didn’t Syrians overwhelmingly reject armed protest and foreign involvement? Has the Syrian government not shown itself willing to make concessions by pursuing an inter-Syrian reconciliation policy, granting various amnesties to rebels, and allowing constitutional changes that urged for real presidential elections? Wasn’t Assad democratically re-elected in 2014 with a stunning 88,7% of the vote by 64% of the eligible electorate?[2] And isn’t the Syrian army possibly even more popular than Assad, as Syrians opposed to the Ba’ath party as well as violent protest often choose to back the army, while not defending the Assad presidency? Doesn’t this imply that maybe just maybe, the Syrian army rather than the West is the one that is really committed to fighting terrorism? “No,” Western officials tell us, “Syrians are probably heavily indoctrinated.” To me, this is an outright insult to the intellect of the Syrian people. Calling out insults of course does not make good arguments, however. Therefore, let us examine some of the allegations that are used to smear Assad as a “brutal dictator.”
...

The proxy war on Syria – part 4: The export of disinformation

In the previous two parts, we have exposed two delusional fairy tales that are absolutely essential in keeping the conflict in Syria alive. Not only are the so-called moderates terrorists rather than peace-loving rebels, but the claim that Assad and his “loyalists” are terrorising their own people appears to have no real base in reality too. Indeed, thus far no credible evidence that the Syrian army deliberately targets civilians has been put forward. But still the Western public is let to believe that Syrians prefer the largely foreign, head-chopping, torturing terrorists to the Syrian army, in which – due to its large mobilisation and contrary to the armed opposition – many Syrians have relatives.

It is impossible, however, to dismiss 1) the large support the Syrian army and government enjoy, and 2) the terrible crimes not only of Jabhat al-Nusrah and Daesh, but also of the “moderate rebels.” Unfortunately, although this occasionally blows some holes in the official story, the dominant narrative in totality remains largely unquestioned. I often found myself thinking how this absurdly twisted logic is sustained. Indeed, the amount of disinformation in this conflict is enormous, but how is it possible that the West’s usual critical observers and anti-imperialists in this case are often not able to connect the dots and expose this as the propaganda war that it is?
...

The proxy war on Syria – part 5: The culprits and their intentions

The so-called Syrian “civil war” is not in any way, shape, or form a natural development. The US, NATO and their regional allies (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, and Israel) have played a key role in the emergence of all anti-Syrian extremist groups, including Daesh (or IS/ISIS/ISIL). Without foreign involvement, this war would simply not have occurred. Consequently, if the ongoing financial, armaments-, and ideological support to the insurgents would finally be brought to a halt, the suffering of the Syrian people will be over soon.

Rather than a conflict between Syrians, this is a war on Syria. Because an Iraqi-style invasion was off the table since the public is reluctant to boots on the ground, the foreign powers involved decided to wage a proxy war in which each has its own role. While the US, Qatar and Saudi Arabia arm and fund death squads that serve as proxy armies to overthrow the Syrian government, Turkey and Jordan host military bases in which the CIA and US special forces train Syrian “rebels” (including later Daesh militants) and serve as crossing points for foreign jihadis (see part 3). Besides training and funneling arms to the insurgents, the US – and the West in general – is responsible for shaping public opinion in support of the war. A final co-conspirator that should not go unmentioned is Israel. The Zionist state has a more hidden hand in this proxy war, as it can use its powerful lobby groups in the US to push its agenda.

The big question of course remains: what’s at stake?
...

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Comments

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 7:42am

It all comes down to 2 things the capitalists want:

Natural resources and an endless supply of cheap labor. And since much of the western working class have utterly capitulated to fascism, no one can oppose them.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 8:01am

We survived to Saturday and so did Syria

Thanks for summarizing the long video.

After five years of relentless warfare, these alleged democracy-seeking revolutionaries – armed with sophisticated weaponry, joined by hordes of foreign fighters and supposedly having the full support of the Syrian people – still have not succeeded in overthrowing Assad, however. Doesn’t this all appear very strange and even contradictory?

Yes, sure, win their hearts and minds, when it's already clear whom the Syrians want for their own governance.

we have exposed the fallacy that “moderate democracy-seeking rebels” were forced to take up arms after “peaceful protests were cracked down by Assad’s loyalists.” In reality, without the Western and Gulf monarchies’ arming and financing of the jihadis, who hijacked the Arab Spring protests from the very beginning, there simply would not have been a war

Thank you, fucking Hitlery and Hussein the crypto-killer (hey, hey, how many did you kill today?)

we have exposed two delusional fairy tales that are absolutely essential in keeping the conflict in Syria alive. Not only are the so-called moderates terrorists rather than peace-loving rebels, but the claim that Assad and his “loyalists” are terrorising their own people appears to have no real base in reality too

Peace-loving Al Qaeda and chemical-weapon loving Jaish al-Islam.

Without foreign involvement, this war would simply not have occurred. Consequently, if the ongoing financial, armaments-, and ideological support to the insurgents would finally be brought to a halt, the suffering of the Syrian people will be over soon.

The core truth of the issue. Why Syria?

Can you spell O-I-L?

So in summary, because of forth-coming rant later today, I wish to express my feelings (partially): You bullshit motherfuckers and all your children hot for war should be installed with the moderate rebels to fight along aside them for their noble aims. BTW, if you're Christian, I hope you aren't too attached to your heads, cause you might find a painful separation occurring. So you fucking Neocon bastards go fight for the right to be murdered with the Syrians. And Fuck You Trump, you motherfucking war criminal.

Submitted by Linda Wood on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 9:33am

CB,

thank you for bringing this to us. I will read it, and I hope it is part of a successful effort to keep the momentum of truth going forward.

Just by way of expressing frustration, before the announcement of the attack yesterday I happened to hear a discussion by a few liberal, what would you call them, researchers ?, reporters ?, commentators ? on my car radio, a program called 1A, I believe, and they were of absolute base certainty about the chemical attack and about Assad's guilt. That went without saying almost. Their absolute certainty was that more than just bombing here and there must happen. I found myself screaming in my car, not only at the stupidity of this mindset, but also because of how youthful they sounded, along with their total ignorance.

This hoard of spoiled brat journalists needs to be, as others have said here, transported to the war zone and forced to see and to experience what is happening.

Thank you, CB, also for posting the video of our slaughter of children in Libya.

I admit to being so averse to watching and listening to mainstream media that I have avoided the kind of frustration I felt yesterday. I guess what made it worse is that this was Public Radio.

Submitted by TheOtherMaven on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 9:59am

Pubic Radio sold its soul a long time ago

@Linda Wood
and is now nothing more than just another whore of the Establishment. (Yes the typo is intentional.)

Sadly, this was inevitable, because nothing can survive in this country now that is not supported by Big Gubmint or Big Bidness or both.

—

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Submitted by Linda Wood on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 10:29am

I hear you,

@TheOtherMaven

and I've known that for a long time too. I've been aware, but I've turned away and haven't been listening. The first time I saw the Chevron label on the PBS Newshour, I knew it was over. So I just stopped watching. I don't have the courage that so many of you have to listen to and watch these witting or un-witting Nazis. It's terrifying. I just start screaming.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 10:01pm

This is what I have a problem with

@Linda Wood

they were of absolute base certainty about the chemical attack and about Assad's guilt.

People don't even bother to stop and think why Assad would have done this right after he cleared Ghouta of terrorists. They won't entertain the possibility that it was a false flag, the same type of false information that Bush used to start his war on Iraq.

No, they believe it 100% because they have bought the propaganda about how evil Assad is. This goes for how people feel about Putin too. They won't even hear how he has brought the Russian economy up and that they have universal health care along with other social programs.

It's gotten to the point that I'd like to bitch slap them to get them to open their eyes and see reality.

—

Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 10:41pm

Evening snoopy

@snoopydawg

[video:https://youtu.be/EPhWR4d3FJQ]

Submitted by CB on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 10:25am

Truth about Skripal poison now revealed

Lavrov BOMBSHELL: Swiss Lab confirms “BZ toxin” produced in US or UK used in Salisbury poisoning

The substance used on Sergei Skripal was an agent called BZ, according to a Swiss lab, the Russian foreign minister said. The toxin was never produced in Russia, but was in service in the US, UK, and other NATO states.

Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with an incapacitating toxin known as 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate or BZ, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, citing the results of the examination conducted by a Swiss chemical lab that worked with the samples that London handed over to the Organisation for the Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The Swiss center sent the results to the OPCW. However, the UN chemical watchdog limited itself only to confirming the formula of the substance used to poison the Skripals in its final report without mentioning anything about the other facts presented in the Swiss document, the Russian foreign minister added. He went on to say that Moscow would ask the OPCW about its decision to not include any other information provided by the Swiss in its report.

Submitted by TheOtherMaven on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 12:50pm

Veeeery interesting.... :-)

@CB

So if the Russians didn't do it, who did?

—

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Submitted by CB on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 1:33pm

I think it was MI6

@TheOtherMaven
The phony US, UK and French financed/controlled NGO, the White Helmets, were responsible for supplying the video of the latest Douma scam. The UK/MI6 is also responsible for the Skripal false flag. It appears they were preparing the ground for the recent attack.

I believe things are starting to fall apart. It's hard to keep their lies straight.

Submitted by Lookout on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 6:23pm

Great piece(s)

@CB

Excellent source and analysis as usual CB.

This report on the likeliness of a false flag chemical attack aired a month ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmYCgK2zHCI (8 min)

Former US diplomat Jim Jatis comments yesterday as the bombing occurred was interesting too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdOdh_oA1ag (14 min)

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 12:30pm

Well isn't this convenient?

Pentagon officials said the attacks targeted the heart of Assad's programs to develop and produce chemical weapons, and delivered "a very serious blow," McKenzie said. Assad's Barzah research and development center in the Damascus area was destroyed, the general said. "It does not exist anymore," he said, while noting that some facilities associated with the Syrian chemical weapons enterprise were not targeted and thus remain available to Assad.

Tell the world that you intentionally didn't destroy all of the chemical weapons centers leaving open the chance to accuse Assad again some day of using them again so that you can commit war crimes again if the need arises.

The US is saying that no civilians were killed and yet other news agencies are reporting that some were. Who to believe?

BTW, how did they confirm those warehouses were chemical weapon laboratories? Hmm? Inquiring minds want to know.

Krugam is asking "who will be the last man to die for a Pee Tape?"

This is the meme the news media is putting out today. Trump waited long enough to strike so that Assad and Putin could move their equipment to safety and then the bombs only fell on empty places and did no damage.

And the Great Orange Satan is still saying this was nothing but a wag the dawg to get attention off of the Trump news. Well, there are some that are cheering for this action, but that just goes to show that the GOS'ists have lost their f*cking minds.

—

Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.

Submitted by Ellen North on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 10:46pm

If they'd found chemical warfare facilities,

@snoopydawg

why not report them to the OPCW investigators, the first team of whom had arrived just before they began bombing, and have this on record and officially dealt with - rather than blowing them up to poison civilians?

The mere fact that what they blew up signally failed to poison anyone proves right there what was already established and apparently verified last year by an inspection: Assad does not have any chemical weapons.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/421515-ghouta-syria-chemical-weapons/

Terrorist capabilities laid bare in an Eastern Ghouta chemical lab
Sharmine Narwani
Sharmine Narwani is a commentator and analyst of Middle East geopolitics. She is a former senior associate at St. Antony's College, Oxford University and has a master’s degree in International Relations from Columbia University. Sharmine has written commentary for a wide array of publications, including Al Akhbar English, the New York Times, the Guardian, Asia Times Online, Salon.com, USA Today, the Huffington Post, Al Jazeera English, BRICS Post and others.
Published time: 16 Mar, 2018 14:22
Edited time: 16 Mar, 2018 18:45

The battle of narratives over the use of chemical weapons in Syria has been raging ferociously for years. But a chemical lab discovered in Eastern Ghouta this week is set to change the parameters of the discourse.

Last December, at a US military hangar near Washington DC, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley showcased an over-sized metal pipe as evidence of Iran’s military collusion with Yemen’s Houthi rebels. That picture hit every front page in the western hemisphere, drowning out the many objections that a big pipe on an American stage proves nothing.

This week, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) liberated some Eastern Ghouta farmlands between Shifouniyeh and Douma and discovered a well-equipped chemical laboratory run by Saudi-backed Islamist terrorists. Not a single Western reporter showed up to investigate the facility.

The media disinterest is strange, given that US officials appear poised to green-light military attacks against Syria, which they claim has used chemical weapons (CW) against civilian populations. This charge remains unproven and highly contentious, with other parties arguing that anti-government militants are employing CW munitions to provoke a US military intervention against Syria.

So perhaps it’s not so strange that a chemical lab discovered right at the epicenter of a major strategic battle over Syria is being ignored by one side. In the end, it is likely that only one side is right about who is using CWs in Syria. Which is why one side went silent when this lab was revealed.

The chemical facility lies only a few dozen meters away from the current military frontline and was liberated as recently as Monday. The lab is surrounded by farmlands – the last place one would expect to find this stash. I see fields of wheat, green peas, beans and chickpeas scattered liberally in a conflict area Western media dubs a “starvation siege.” The building itself is shell-pocked and littered with debris, like so many of the structures I pass in Shifouniyeh and other towns in Eastern Ghouta where war rages. ...

...Terrorists and chemical weapons

There is ample evidence that terrorists have been using low-grade and unsophisticated CWs in the Iraqi and Syrian military theaters.

The use of the nerve agent Sarin in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by insurgents in Iraq has been documented by the media since 2004 – and in detail by the CIA, which links the substance to lost or pilfered stock from Iraq’s old chemical munitions program.

Chlorine IEDs were also first used in Iraq that same year, but it was in 2007 that an aggressive chemical war was launched in Anbar province and other parts of the country by Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which used chlorine bombs in suicide attacks.

Fast forward a decade or so. In 2016, the UK intelligence analysis firm IHS Conflict Monitor issued a report saying that Islamic State (which evolved out of Al-Qaeda in Iraq), has used chemical weapons, including chlorine and sulfur mustard agents, at least 52 times in both Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, the trouble began in December 2012 when the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front (a former IS ally), took over the country’s only chlorine manufacturing plant, a joint business venture with the Saudis located east of Aleppo. Damascus issued an immediate warning to the UN: “Terrorist groups may resort to using chemical weapons against the Syrian people… after having gained control of a toxic chlorine factory.”

Three months later, in what is viewed as the first real CW incident of the Syrian conflict, 26 people – the majority of them (16) Syrian soldiers – were killed in the village of Khan Assal in Aleppo in a reported chlorine attack. The next day, the Syrian government requested that the UN investigate the attack. A few days later, there was another alleged chemical incident in Adra, northeast of Damascus, followed by a reported attack in Saraqeb, and then in Ghouta in August – the CW incident that almost triggered US military strikes. A Jordanian reporter on the ground in Ghouta interviewed witnesses who said the Saudis had provided militants with chemical weapons and that some had been detonated by accident.

In May 2013, Turkish authorities captured 12 Nusra Front militants with 4.5lb of sarin gas. Turkish media carried varying reports about the terrorists’ goals – one of them was that the group was planning to take the materials back to Syria, Nusra’s home base.

In June, members of an Al-Qaeda cell were apprehended by Iraqi authorities who raided two Baghdad factories that were used to research and manufacture sarin and mustard agents. Authorities said that the AQ militants had precursor chemicals and formulas necessary for the production of the deadly CWs.

And so on and so forth. But back to the lab in Eastern Ghouta.

The lab’s occupants, Saudi-backed Jaysh al-Islam, publicly admitted in 2016 to using toxic agents in mortar attacks against Kurds in the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood. “During the clashes one of the Jaysh al-Islam brigades used [weapons] forbidden in this kind of confrontations,” the group said in a statement about the chemical attack, in which it claimed the perpetrator would be held accountable.

The statement is relevant in only one way. It confirms the group has chemical munitions.

Who benefits from CWs?

In mid-2012, the Syrian government confirmed for the first time that it had chemical weapons, but stated these were only for use against “external aggression” and never against the Syrian people.

This statement could be viewed with the same skepticism as the one by Jaysh al-Islam, except for one thing: chemical weapons in no way, shape or form – neither politically nor militarily – benefit the Syrian government in this seven-year conflict. It’s why the Syrian government unilaterally admitted to its CW program and was so willing to relinquish it under US and Russian supervision.

The amount of CWs used on the Syrian battlefield is negligible in comparison with the scope and violence of the war. Why use a highly provocative weapon that kills only a few dozen people when you can use conventional munitions that can do a cleaner job?

And why risk the ire of the entire international community – and further isolation – when what you want most is to avoid foreign military intervention that can take out your military bases in mere days?

It’s telling that throughout Syria’s conflict, “massacres” and “chemical attacks” have taken place mostly when militants are facing setbacks or stalemates – or when important events like UN Security Council meetings loom.

What better opportunity to galvanize the international community to condemn, sanction, punish or bomb your enemy than with gruesome scenes of bodies convulsing and children gasping for air?

It really doesn’t matter what is found in the chemical lab at al-Shifouniyeh farms. The occupants of the lab, whether Al-Nusra, Jaysh al-Islam or IS – two of which are currently militarily active in Eastern Ghouta – have provided the last piece of the chemical weapons whodunnit puzzle. They always had the motive to stage chemical warfare in Syria, but now we can see they have the means and capabilities too.

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by Linda Wood on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 10:41am

THANK YOU!

@Ellen North

The other point about finding this chemical weapons cache and factory in rebel-held East Ghouta is that chemical munitions were found there with German and British labels, indicating somehow rebels, sorry, terrorists were being supplied by the West.

https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/04/08/proof-intel-drop-trump-bolton-b...

Proof: Intel Drop, Trump, Bolton behind Syria chemical attacks, confirmed
Germany, Britain, America, Israel - VT provides proof of chemical warfare and war crimes.

By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor - April 8, 2018

… The SAA capturing this chemical weapons facility was a huge turn of events.

… The impending attack on Damascus by the US was partially due to what the SAA might uncover in East Ghouta; and because they were able to move fast, they overran the US Coalition’s chemical weapons operations faster than anyone thought possible.

… The SAA has US Coalition chemical weapons officers in custody; and Russia has told the US, Brits, Israelis, and Saudis that they will have to deal with Damascus.

How long US media and our own Congress can pretend they know nothing about who some of the major terrorist elements are that most are afraid to mention? Their house of cards is crumbling, and “they” will be more dangerous in that situation, as we are talking about some serious crimes here...

#5 why not report them to the OPCW investigators, the first team of whom had arrived just before they began bombing, and have this on record and officially dealt with - rather than blowing them up to poison civilians? The mere fact that what they blew up signally failed to poison anyone proves right there what was already established and apparently verified last year by an inspection: Assad does not have any chemical weapons. https://www.rt.com/op-ed/421515-ghouta-syria-chemical-weapons/ Terrorist capabilities laid bare in an Eastern Ghouta chemical lab Sharmine Narwani Sharmine Narwani is a commentator and analyst of Middle East geopolitics. She is a former senior associate at St. Antony's College, Oxford University and has a master’s degree in International Relations from Columbia University. Sharmine has written commentary for a wide array of publications, including Al Akhbar English, the New York Times, the Guardian, Asia Times Online, Salon.com, USA Today, the Huffington Post, Al Jazeera English, BRICS Post and others. Published time: 16 Mar, 2018 14:22 Edited time: 16 Mar, 2018 18:45 The battle of narratives over the use of chemical weapons in Syria has been raging ferociously for years. But a chemical lab discovered in Eastern Ghouta this week is set to change the parameters of the discourse. Last December, at a US military hangar near Washington DC, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley showcased an over-sized metal pipe as evidence of Iran’s military collusion with Yemen’s Houthi rebels. That picture hit every front page in the western hemisphere, drowning out the many objections that a big pipe on an American stage proves nothing. This week, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) liberated some Eastern Ghouta farmlands between Shifouniyeh and Douma and discovered a well-equipped chemical laboratory run by Saudi-backed Islamist terrorists. Not a single Western reporter showed up to investigate the facility. The media disinterest is strange, given that US officials appear poised to green-light military attacks against Syria, which they claim has used chemical weapons (CW) against civilian populations. This charge remains unproven and highly contentious, with other parties arguing that anti-government militants are employing CW munitions to provoke a US military intervention against Syria. So perhaps it’s not so strange that a chemical lab discovered right at the epicenter of a major strategic battle over Syria is being ignored by one side. In the end, it is likely that only one side is right about who is using CWs in Syria. Which is why one side went silent when this lab was revealed. The chemical facility lies only a few dozen meters away from the current military frontline and was liberated as recently as Monday. The lab is surrounded by farmlands – the last place one would expect to find this stash. I see fields of wheat, green peas, beans and chickpeas scattered liberally in a conflict area Western media dubs a “starvation siege.” The building itself is shell-pocked and littered with debris, like so many of the structures I pass in Shifouniyeh and other towns in Eastern Ghouta where war rages. ... ...Terrorists and chemical weapons There is ample evidence that terrorists have been using low-grade and unsophisticated CWs in the Iraqi and Syrian military theaters. The use of the nerve agent Sarin in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by insurgents in Iraq has been documented by the media since 2004 – and in detail by the CIA, which links the substance to lost or pilfered stock from Iraq’s old chemical munitions program. Chlorine IEDs were also first used in Iraq that same year, but it was in 2007 that an aggressive chemical war was launched in Anbar province and other parts of the country by Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which used chlorine bombs in suicide attacks. Fast forward a decade or so. In 2016, the UK intelligence analysis firm IHS Conflict Monitor issued a report saying that Islamic State (which evolved out of Al-Qaeda in Iraq), has used chemical weapons, including chlorine and sulfur mustard agents, at least 52 times in both Syria and Iraq. In Syria, the trouble began in December 2012 when the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front (a former IS ally), took over the country’s only chlorine manufacturing plant, a joint business venture with the Saudis located east of Aleppo. Damascus issued an immediate warning to the UN: “Terrorist groups may resort to using chemical weapons against the Syrian people… after having gained control of a toxic chlorine factory.” Three months later, in what is viewed as the first real CW incident of the Syrian conflict, 26 people – the majority of them (16) Syrian soldiers – were killed in the village of Khan Assal in Aleppo in a reported chlorine attack. The next day, the Syrian government requested that the UN investigate the attack. A few days later, there was another alleged chemical incident in Adra, northeast of Damascus, followed by a reported attack in Saraqeb, and then in Ghouta in August – the CW incident that almost triggered US military strikes. A Jordanian reporter on the ground in Ghouta interviewed witnesses who said the Saudis had provided militants with chemical weapons and that some had been detonated by accident. In May 2013, Turkish authorities captured 12 Nusra Front militants with 4.5lb of sarin gas. Turkish media carried varying reports about the terrorists’ goals – one of them was that the group was planning to take the materials back to Syria, Nusra’s home base. In June, members of an Al-Qaeda cell were apprehended by Iraqi authorities who raided two Baghdad factories that were used to research and manufacture sarin and mustard agents. Authorities said that the AQ militants had precursor chemicals and formulas necessary for the production of the deadly CWs. And so on and so forth. But back to the lab in Eastern Ghouta. The lab’s occupants, Saudi-backed Jaysh al-Islam, publicly admitted in 2016 to using toxic agents in mortar attacks against Kurds in the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood. “During the clashes one of the Jaysh al-Islam brigades used [weapons] forbidden in this kind of confrontations,” the group said in a statement about the chemical attack, in which it claimed the perpetrator would be held accountable. The statement is relevant in only one way. It confirms the group has chemical munitions. Who benefits from CWs? In mid-2012, the Syrian government confirmed for the first time that it had chemical weapons, but stated these were only for use against “external aggression” and never against the Syrian people. This statement could be viewed with the same skepticism as the one by Jaysh al-Islam, except for one thing: chemical weapons in no way, shape or form – neither politically nor militarily – benefit the Syrian government in this seven-year conflict. It’s why the Syrian government unilaterally admitted to its CW program and was so willing to relinquish it under US and Russian supervision. The amount of CWs used on the Syrian battlefield is negligible in comparison with the scope and violence of the war. Why use a highly provocative weapon that kills only a few dozen people when you can use conventional munitions that can do a cleaner job? And why risk the ire of the entire international community – and further isolation – when what you want most is to avoid foreign military intervention that can take out your military bases in mere days? It’s telling that throughout Syria’s conflict, “massacres” and “chemical attacks” have taken place mostly when militants are facing setbacks or stalemates – or when important events like UN Security Council meetings loom. What better opportunity to galvanize the international community to condemn, sanction, punish or bomb your enemy than with gruesome scenes of bodies convulsing and children gasping for air? It really doesn’t matter what is found in the chemical lab at al-Shifouniyeh farms. The occupants of the lab, whether Al-Nusra, Jaysh al-Islam or IS – two of which are currently militarily active in Eastern Ghouta – have provided the last piece of the chemical weapons whodunnit puzzle. They always had the motive to stage chemical warfare in Syria, but now we can see they have the means and capabilities too.