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Exclusive: Intercepted Calls Prove Syrian Army Used Nerve Gas, U.S. Spies Say
Foreign Policy ^ | 8-27-13 | Posted By Noah Shachtman

Posted on 08/28/2013 5:36:47 AM PDT by quimby

Last Wednesday, in the hours after a horrific chemical attack east of Damascus, an official at the Syrian Ministry of Defense exchanged panicked phone calls with a leader of a chemical weapons unit, demanding answers for a nerve agent strike that killed more than 1,000 people. Those conversations were overheard by U.S. intelligence services, The Cable has learned. And that is the major reason why American officials now say they're certain that the attacks were the work of the Bashar al-Assad regime -- and why the U.S. military is likely to attack that regime in a matter of days.

But the intercept raises questions about culpability for the chemical massacre, even as it answers others: Was the attack on Aug. 21 the work of a Syrian officer overstepping his bounds? Or was the strike explicitly directed by senior members of the Assad regime? "It's unclear where control lies," one U.S. intelligence official told The Cable. "Is there just some sort of general blessing to use these things? Or are there explicit orders for each attack?"

(Excerpt) Read more at thecable.foreignpolicy.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Government; Israel; News/Current Events; Russia; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911truthers; chemicalweapons; iran; israel; lebanon; littlebrotherdidit; maheralassad; randsconcerntrolls; russia; syria; turkey; unitedkingdom; waronterror
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To: cincinnati65; P-Marlowe
rogue leader

Al Qaeda has its hands in lots of things, and if they can have plants in the Afghan army who kill US troops, then they can have infiltrated the Syrian army as well.

None of this explains why Assad would have used chemicals on people within easy driving distance of the visiting UN inspection team.

That's a suicide wish and demonstration of a desire to lose.

And every indication is that Assad does not desire to lose.

However, we have not analyzed this intercept. Could the call itself be an enactment, an operation run against both the intercept people and against Assad?

How do we know the intercepted call is really what it appears to be on its surface?

41 posted on 08/28/2013 5:59:43 AM PDT by xzins ( Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Those who truly support our troops pray for their victory!)
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To: quimby

Ok... so they used nerve gas.

Was it on Americans? Nope.

Was it IN America? Uh uh.

Was it AGAINST Americans? Nada.

So...we’re involved why?


42 posted on 08/28/2013 6:00:12 AM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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To: quimby

If the Commander didn’t know, then it proves it was not an authorized attack. Maybe someone rogue. But, this proves the regime did not do it


43 posted on 08/28/2013 6:02:15 AM PDT by HollyB
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To: quimby

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3059547/posts


44 posted on 08/28/2013 6:02:20 AM PDT by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: cripplecreek; All

If we do not fight for our own Ambassadors and people, why are we going to war for strangers?

What Difference Does It Make?


45 posted on 08/28/2013 6:02:55 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA (When Injustice becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty.-Thomas Jefferson)
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To: ThunderSleeps

arab militaries don’t do anything unless their officers order it and their officers don’t order anything unless the regime orders it

the penalty for independent decision making is summary execution

this sounds like a CF orchestrated by a rogue rebel group who got themselves inserted into a key unit

or another false flag attack

so far all the victim pictures are civilians- anyone seen a dead al Qaeda .... errr...”rebel”... fighter?


46 posted on 08/28/2013 6:03:14 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: NFHale

Washington Times reports that the UN is saying it was the Rebels that set it off.


47 posted on 08/28/2013 6:03:27 AM PDT by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
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To: quimby

If the call did transpire, all it shows is that the Syrian govt has chemical weapons, not that it used them. An accusatory question is not evidence of a chemical weapon attack - it is evidence of a chemical weapon stockpile.


48 posted on 08/28/2013 6:03:45 AM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: silverleaf

What happens when you take out chemical weapon stocks with air strikes?

Just curious, not trying to be a smart arse.


49 posted on 08/28/2013 6:03:54 AM PDT by listenhillary (Courts, law enforcement, roads and national defense should be the extent of government)
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To: PGalt
We have no reason to act.

Unless the allegations are correct and the west helped the rebels with planning and executing a chemical weapons attack. Another cover-up? Could be.

The west maybe has been caught in something ... unheard of? With the candy and nuts, in D.C. anything is certainly possible.

50 posted on 08/28/2013 6:04:02 AM PDT by no-to-illegals (Scrutinize our government and Secure the Blessing of Freedom and Justice)
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To: quimby

The original sources seem to be Israeli and they reported it was a conversation between two officials about treatments. Later there was a claim that was attributed Assad’s brother These were reported here in FR’s during the past two weeks.

This report claims a US source


51 posted on 08/28/2013 6:04:32 AM PDT by mosesdapoet (Serious contribution pause.Please continue onto meaningless venting no one reads.)
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To: listenhillary

It will possibly release the chemicals into the environment and cause more deaths.


52 posted on 08/28/2013 6:04:55 AM PDT by HollyB
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To: quimby
the Israeli Defence Forces, which specialises in electronic surveillance, intercepted a conversation between Syrian officials regarding the use of chemical weapons, an unnamed former Mossad official told Focus. The content of the conversation was relayed to the US, the ex-official said.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/israeli-intelligence-intercepted-syria-chemical-talk

So we're relying on reporting of one man's words to go to war. Stinks to high heaven.

53 posted on 08/28/2013 6:06:27 AM PDT by McGruff (Strange times are these in which we live...)
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To: listenhillary

I am not a targeteer but I believe you use weapons of type and number that will penetrate the storage facilty and containers and incinerate or vaporize the agent you believe you are targeting. and you choose your weather to minimize collateral damage to nearby residents in case it is capable of becoming airborne

and if not, you just disable the dam facility and make it so dirty a special EOD cleanup crew goes in to finish the EOD job on the ground - as we did in Iraq


54 posted on 08/28/2013 6:08:55 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: xzins
Oh, Al Qaeda is already there...two separate excepts

An al Qaeda-affiliated rebel commander in Syria has pledged to target communities of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority with rockets in revenge for an alleged chemical attack near Damascus, according to an audio recording seen on Sunday.

The leader of the al-Nusra Front, a jihadist group fighting in Syria, has pledged allegiance to the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani said the group's behaviour in Syria would not change as a result. Al-Nusra claims to be have carried out many suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks against state targets. On Tuesday, al-Qaeda in Iraq announced a merger with al-Nusra, but Mr Jawlani said he had not been consulted on this. Al-Nusra has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the US.

55 posted on 08/28/2013 6:09:13 AM PDT by cincinnati65
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To: HollyB

“It will possibly release the chemicals into the environment and cause more deaths.”

Yes indeed it will.

Who will be blamed? Why would we want to do this to the Syrians?


56 posted on 08/28/2013 6:09:53 AM PDT by listenhillary (Courts, law enforcement, roads and national defense should be the extent of government)
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To: babyfreep
That is TRUTH #1. We are not there, they fight each other...we show up, they fight us. We leave, they go back to fighting each other.

The current death toll from today's car bombing in Iraq is at 44.
57 posted on 08/28/2013 6:12:09 AM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: no-to-illegals

EXACTLY, no-to-illegals. That thought has crossed my mind MANY times. The enemies within. There are many of them.


58 posted on 08/28/2013 6:12:57 AM PDT by PGalt
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To: listenhillary
Who will be blamed? Why would we want to do this to the Syrians?

The only apparent reason is to destroy the evidence that the weapons came from Iraq, protecting the liberal narrative that Bush lied about Iraq having those weapons.

59 posted on 08/28/2013 6:14:19 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: mosesdapoet
The original sources seem to be Israeli and they reported it was a conversation between two officials about treatments. Later there was a claim that was attributed Assad’s brother These were reported here in FR’s during the past two weeks.

Since the incident took place a week ago today, those reports may have been related to the earlier incidents.

This story does not claim a US source, It claims a US official "overheard" the conversations. It implies the US intercepted the conversations, but they could have heard the israeli tapes.

60 posted on 08/28/2013 6:16:07 AM PDT by quimby
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